A/N I'll give you a hint: one of the brother's gets a verbal butt kicking, and another gets a reunion. You'll just have to read to find out who.

After Splinter's reconciliation with his oldest son, things began to settle into a more regular schedule. As they had in their old home, Raph, Donny, and Mikey continued their rotating arrangement for leading morning and evening practices. Most mornings they practiced before their counterparts even awoke, leaving Master Splinter to either sit with Leo or, if Leo was still sleeping, to sit in and observe their training. On those days when Leo would have led the training, the brothers either spent the morning meditating with him in his room, or with Splinter leading the exercises. Eventually, Donny suggested one day, when Leo had regained more of his strength and was ready to begin his rehabilitation, those days could be used to help Leo with his physical therapy, until he was ready to rejoin them full-time. The idea was met with fervent accord by the others, especially Leo, and Splinter had to admire the way the little family worked together, peacefully, for the greater good of them all, without the arguing and disagreements that usually accompanied his sons in their decision making.

In spending so much time with the two families, Splinter could no help noticing both the similarities and the differences in both versions of his sons as he spent time with each group. The one turtle who seemed the least different in each dimension was Donatello. Both versions of the young genius had an innate drive to better the lives of his brothers, and neither could keep himself from tinkering around the Lair. It was no surprise to the elderly sensei that it was these two that were the first to connect beyond their preset boundaries. In fact, it became quite common for the two of them to still be working together in Donatello's lab well into the night.

Still, there were some differences between the two. Leo's Donny was far more attentive to his brothers than Donatello was inclined to be. Numerous times Donny would put aside whatever new gadget or invention he was working on in order to spend time with one of his brothers. He always seemed to have time for Mikey, and there was none of the friction and hesitancy between him and Raph that could be seen between Donatello and Raphael. And then there was Donny's absolute and complete devotion to Leo. Nothing could come between Donny and his oldest brother. And Donny wasn't afraid to defend his brother, even when Raphael was at his most vitriolic. He just calmly told the other version of his older brother where he could stuff his anger before serenely going on his way.

The next most similar turtles were, unsurprisingly, Mikey and Michelangelo. Both were the youngest of their respective families, and as such were treated to a measure of "babying," though none of them, particular Mikey and Michelangelo, would ever call it that. Behavior that was unlikely to be tolerated in one of the older turtles, such as the pair's obsession with comic books, was ignored in the two younger brothers. Likewise, both of the turtles had a rather immature but disarming sense of humor that often came into play as a means of defusing tense situations. Mikey, however, had an overarching measure of maturity that Splinter's Michelangelo didn't. That, the ninja master figured, came from having to survive a year with only his two immediate older brothers as his support, following his own father's death and oldest brother's disappearance. Likewise, Mikey tended to be far more empathetic than Michelangelo. His pranks, though often embarrassing for the victim, were never humiliating, and they never pushed too far. In fact, more often than not, the victim of one of Mikey's pranks ended up laughing along with the young turtle, rather than trying to throttle him. And if he accidentally did go too far, Mikey was quick to apologize.

As for Raph and Raphael, well, these two were the most similar and the most diametrically opposite. Each one was, in his own way, fiercely loyal and protective of his family. However, how each went about demonstrating that loyalty and protection was vastly different. Raphael was far gruffer with his brother's than Raph. He also had far less patience with Michelangelo's pranks and Donatello's preoccupation with his inventions. Raph, on the other hand, was unafraid to demonstrate his love and affection for his brothers openly. Of course, the most common recipient of that affection was Leo, but Donny and Mikey received their fair share as well. For example, one evening Raph was visiting with Mikey in the kitchen as the younger turtle was making dinner. In the middle slicing a tomato for his homemade spaghetti sauce, Mikey's hold on the knife slipped and he cut his hand fairly deeply. Raph was immediately at his side, helping him to wash the cut clean and wrap it tightly in a towel to help control the bleeding. Then, with a care and compassion completely alien to his counterpart, Raph had tenderly bandaged his younger brother's wound, and then had helped finish making dinner, under Mikey's supervision, of course.

Most telling, however, was each group responded to Leo. The oldest turtle's original brothers, who even after two weeks still had not been allowed to see their brother, seemed to view him with a combination of guilt, love, and, still to a small sense, bitterness. It was this last, quite apparent to Leo's new family, that kept them out of their brothers presence. Until they were able to overcome their old feelings of resentment, Splinter knew, Leo's new family wasn't going to let them anywhere near their still vulnerable brother.

In contrast, it was amazing how loving and protective Leo's new family was. Not once did Splinter hear a harsh word come from any one of Leo's chosen brothers. Instead, they were incredibly supportive and encouraging. That didn't mean they babied Leo; far from it. He was pushed and encouraged to regain his independence, but when his own strength failed, Leo knew he could barrow his brothers' until he could stand on his own again.

With seven such different individuals living in one household, not including Splinter, it was inevitable that conflicts should arise. Of course there were the usual fights between Splinter's own sons, those were a given, but clashes were not uncommon between the two sets of brothers, usually Raph and Raphael. The biggest bone of contention between the boys, not surprisingly, was the refusal by Leo's new family to let his old one in to see him. The tension in the Lair began to build to almost intolerable levels, until Michelangelo, quite by accident, created the first breakthrough.

The incident occurred about three weeks after Leo's awakening. Raphael, tired of not being allowed to see his brother, had tried to sneak into the new family's living space, only to be caught by Donny. Without question or thought, the younger turtle thumped Raphael over the shell with his bo staff.

"I thought Raph told you to stay out of there," he told the red-masked turtle. "Leo is not ready to see you yet."

"Who asked you," Raphael growled as he turned on the intervening turtle. "Why should I have to listen to any of you? Last I looked, you were the guests in our home. I think that gives me a little more say in what takes place here."

Donny just snorted. "I'd say that as one of the ones who pulled Leo out of his coma, that we have a stronger claim."

"Well last I looked, it was Donatello and Michelangelo that kept Leo from dying in the first place," Raph countered hotly.

"If it hadn't been for you and your meddlesome brothers, Leo wouldn't have been shot in the first place," Donny said, beginning to lose his own cool. "Oh, and let's not forget that if you and the others hadn't treated Leo like crap to begin with, he never would have felt the need to kill himself, which is what led him to the safety of our home. You and your 'brothers' have only ever hurt Leo. Why should we give you another chance to hurt him again?"

By this time, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raph had come to see what all the yelling was about, especially since it was very uncommon to hear Donny raise his voice.

"Are you so sure you're protecting Leo," Raphael asked snidely, ignoring their audience. "I think you and your brothers get off on the power rush of running Leo's life. Either that, or my brother is a bigger coward than I thought."

At that, Donatello's eyes narrowed in rage. But rather than yell back, and thus giving Raphael what he wanted, Donny just quietly said, "If you believe that, then I have nothing else to say to you, because for someone who claims to love my big brother, that was one of the cruelest things I've ever heard." And with that, the younger turtle turned and disappeared into his family's living room without another word.

Across the room, Raph was getting ready to tear into his alternate self, when someone beat him to it.

"Raphael, how could you," Michelangelo asked his older brother, horrified. "Donny was right, that was absolutely one of the worst things I have ever heard you say. You know Leo's not a coward. And right now, I'm beginning to understand why his new family isn't letting us in to see him. If you can really still be that cruel about Leo, even after almost losing him for good twice, then no, you shouldn't be allowed to see him yet. And if Donatello and I just stand by and let you get away with it, we don't deserve to see him either."

Raphael just stared at his youngest brother in surprise for a long moment before stalking off, murmuring "Whatever, you little traitor," as he went. Donatello likewise gave his younger brother a thoughtful look before excusing himself from the room. Michelangelo was left to stare despondently at the door separating him from his oldest brother. He was so deeply lost in thought, that he literally jumped when Raph said, "Hey kid. Nice little speech there."

"Who are you calling kid," Michelangelo shot back, his mood lifting slightly at Raph's compliment. "Technically, I'm older than you. Besides, I'm not sure it did any good. I don't think Raphael was listening."

"You may have been born before me," Raph conceded, "but you're still Michelangelo, and that by definition makes you younger than me. As for your brothers not listening, I think Donatello was. And even if he wasn't, I was. And you know what, I think you've finally figured it out. So, what do you say we go pay Leo a little visit? I think our big brother would enjoy a visit from his little brother."

TMNTTMNT

Following Rap into his family's common room, Michelangelo felt a little out of place. His discomfort increased when he came face-to-face with Mikey and the still agitated Donny.

"Yo, dude," Mikey asked Raph. "What's he doing here?"

"Chill, bro," Raph said easily, a smile crossing his face. "He's cool. He just delivered a verbal but-kicking to Raphael worthy of yours truly. I think he's learned his lesson; he's ready to see Leo. Trust me, he won't hurt Leo."

Mikey got right up in Michelangelo's face and stared him in the eyes for a long moment. Then he gave his double a goofy grin. "Welcome, dude. Leo's room is right through there." He pointed to a door to his left. And with that, Mikey, Donny and Raph settled themselves on the couch, leaving Michelangelo to make his own way into his older brother's room. After a few calming breaths, Michelangelo made his way over to the closed doorway. Taking his courage in hand, the orange-masked turtle knocked.

"Come in," Leo called, and Michelangelo gently pushed the door open. As silently as possible, the younger turtle entered the room and closed the door behind him. Michelangelo felt his breath catch in this throat at his first look at his brother awake in over two months.

To Leo's credit, he didn't even flinch when he saw just who his visitor was. Instead, he just smiled gently at his younger brother. "Come on in, bro," he said, patting the bed next him. "I'm not going to bite."

Michelangelo swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the knot in his throat. "Leo," he croaked, his feet moving across the room of their own accord. The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the bed, his arms wrapped tightly around his brother, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Shh, Michelangelo, it's okay," Leo crooned in his brother's ear as he held him.

"But it's not," Michelangelo sobbed. "I…I was horrible to you. I didn't mean it. I…"

"Mike," Leo interrupted, shortening his brother's name for the first time in a long time. "I understand. I don't know how, but I heard what you said when I was in that coma, and you apologized then. The only reason my brothers have kept you away until now was to make sure the lesson had stuck. Since you're here, I guess we can say it has."

"Can you ever forgive me, though," Michelangelo asked.

"I already have," Leo told him, and Michelangelo's eyes overflowed with tears once more.

Hugging his big brother tightly, Michelangelo whispered. "Good, because I've missed you, bro. I've missed you so much."

"Me too, Mike," Leo replied, returning the embrace. "Me too."