Thanks to Sapphire93, mav32, Kyaserin Marii, aronoiiel, Rose of Hope, BubblyShell22, BigfootSighted, Merdeka21, hmw95, and Lady-of-the-Rings, 54Viruses, Julia-Catherine, Paranoid Puppy, Katiesmeghead, and winged-monkey for your reviews. I write for you guys. I still don't own the turtles (but I do own Kizake =)).

This chapter's going to be a little different. There'll be some of Leo's perspective in between the other guys'. I hope it's not to confusing. Enjoy!

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That night was a long one. My sons had finally been returned to me, alive. I could not have asked for more. Donatello took care of Leonardo, tending to his injuries and making him comfortable. I then had a talk with my sons. We took the first steps toward healing their wounded spirits. I dreaded seeing how much damage had been done to Leonardo's—the path toward healing his spirit had always been a long one.

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Leonardo was alone, completely alone. His brothers bodies littered the floor in front of him, bleeding and broken. He was chained to a wall, and someone was hitting him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't take his eyes off of his dead brothers….

"Leo? Leo!" Leo moaned and opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light. "Leo, are you okay?" It was Mikey. Leo smiled.

"Yeah, Mike. I just had a bad dream."

"Do you want me to get Donny?" Mikey asked him.

"No, that's okay. Let him sleep. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I came downstairs to get a drink and heard you moanin' an' stuff, so I came to check on you. I thought I should prob'ly wake you up…."

"Yeah, thanks Mikey. I'm glad you did," Leo said. He had gotten over the initial shock of finding his brothers alive after so long of believing they were dead, but the dreams still plagued him. At least they aren't omens of what's yet to come, he thought wryly. But still, they were no fun. "You should probably go back to bed now. I'll be fine."

"Well, okay. Are you sure?" Mikey sounded reluctant to leave him along after his dream.

"Yeah, Mikey. You should get some sleep." Mikey turned and left, turning off the light. "Hey Mikey?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"I really missed you… a lot."

"I missed you too bro. Now get some sleep." Leo closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

Leo awoke to the sounds of activity around the lair. He heard Mikey in the kitchen making breakfast, and Donny moving around the lab, and Raph working out with his punching bag in the dojo. He smelled Master Splinter's tea brewing and eggs and sausage being fried. He kept his eyes closed and just enjoyed the sounds and smells. This was home. His brothers were alive, and they were all safe at home. He had missed these simple things for so long—he had thought he would never experience them again.

He finally opened his eyes to see Donny standing over him, checking his vitals. "You're awake!" the brainy turtle said. "That's a good sign—Mikey said you were up for a little while last night too." Leo nodded, still half-asleep. "Good, you should be up and around for a few days. But no training for at least two weeks." Donny's voice grew stern with the last of his speech.

Leo smiled. "You have no idea how much I missed hearing you say that," he said.

Don stopped what he was doing and looked at Leo, smiling. "Does that mean you're actually gonna listen this time?"

"Not a chance," Leo joked. In truth, he didn't know if he would follow Don's orders or not. Part of him longed to train to become stronger so that he wouldn't fail his brothers again, but another part of him just wanted to make his brothers happy. Maybe he would wait a weed and a half…. Don looked at him, an annoyed look on his face. But Leo didn't miss the sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Yeah, well, we'll just see about that. I've got everyone else on my side this time. Hey, listen. Master Splinter wanted to talk to you when you woke up. Do you feel up to that?" Leo nodded, his smile fading. He knew exactly what Splinter wanted to talk to him about, and he wasn't looking forward to it. But it might as well be now as later.

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Don walked out of the lab smiling. At least Leo was acting like his old self… But Don knew it was probably just that—an act. He could tell that Leo was struggling with guilt and self-loathing, just like he did every time any of them were in danger. He had been the one who got hurt, and he was still acting like he had failed them. He was glad Leo had agreed to talk to Master Splinter. The sooner he got over his guilt the sooner things could be back to normal.

He nodded to his sensei, letting him know Leo was awake and waiting for him, then sat down at the table next to his other brothers. As soon as the door to the lab closed Raph and Mikey were across the lair, their ears plastered to the door. Donny rolled his eyes at them but couldn't resist following as well.

"My son, are you feeling well?" Master Splinter was asking.

"As much as can be expected. I'm fine," Leo answered.

"And your spirit?"

Donny heard Leo sigh and shift uncomfortably on the bed. "Uh… I'm fine," Leo repeated.

"I sense great unrest with you, Leonardo. You must express you feeling if you are to truly heal."

Leo sighed again. "Okay, but first will you make Raph, Mikey and Don stop listening at the door?" Don quickly slinked off, thinking to himself, It's scary how well Leo know us.

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Leo smiled a little as he heard his brothers scramble away from the door to the lab. He knew from experience that it was hard to have a private conversation anywhere in the lair if his brothers were at home. Even Donny was known to eavesdrop every once in a while….

Leo's thoughts were interrupted by Splinter's voice. "Now that we are alone, my son, tell me what it is that is bothering you."

Leo looked away, reluctant to answer. "I… I just—I feel responsible for everything that happened. If I had only fought harder, and protected them better… or escaped sooner and found them…."

"Leonardo." Leo turned to face his sensei when he heard the sharp tone in his voice. "You must stop always blaming yourself for other people's actions. You had no control over what Kizake did—yes, your brothers told me everything that happened. You are not at fault for any of it. You must see that."

Leo again looked away. "I know it's not technically my fault, but I still feel like if I had done something differently…."



"My son, it is because of you that your brothers ever were freed at all. I searched for you for days but finally had to give up…. Your brothers would have been trapped there until they died if not for your bravery and resourcefulness. I know you will come to see this in time. For now let us speak of other things. Your brothers and I are unaware of what happened between your escape and the rescue."

Leo told the story of his duel with Kizake, and finding out about his brothers. "After that I don't really know what happened. I went to find them, and I guess I did. The next thing I knew I was here."

"I see. Your brothers also told me of the dreams you had been having. What were they like?"

"Well, it was weird. They were so real, like visions. And they always came true, exactly like in the dream. And sometimes they would… sometimes I would see them even when I was awake." Leo looked at his master as he nodded his head as if a suspicion had been confirmed.

"It is as I thought. The same thing happened once to my Master Yoshi while he was training with the Ancient One. His master was in mortal danger and the dream was a warning for him, a message on the spiritual level. I am not sure why they come or where they come from, but it is not unheard of."

"Do you think I'll keep having them, or will they go away?" Leo hoped with all his heart that they would go away. They hadn't exactly been pleasant….

"I do not know, my son. For Master Yoshi, it only happened once. For others, they come whenever someone they love is in danger. You may never have one of these dreams again, or you may have them occasionally for the rest of your life." Leo nodded, and then yawned. "I see you are tired. You may get some sleep now. I shall have a talk with your brothers." Leo was asleep almost before Splinter left the room, closing the door behind him.

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"Leo thinks it's his fault?!" Raph shouted. "That's insane!" Master Splinter had just finished telling them about his conversation with Leo, and Raph was furious. "Did you tell him how stupid that is?"

"Not in those exact words, but I did tell him is not to blame."

"Good," Raph grumbled. Leo had been through enough without taking all the blame for something he didn't have any control over.

"So he'll be normal again soon?" Mikey asked.

"Since when is Leo normal?" Raph retorted. He smiled at the glare Mikey sent his way.

"I meant… normal for Leo."

Splinter chuckled. "Yes, with our support," he said, looking pointedly at Raph who smirked in return, "your brother will be 'normal' soon." Mikey smiled his big smile and Raph couldn't help but feel relieved at the news. There was nothing worse than a moody Leo. Raph sighed and stood up.

"Well, I'm ready for lunch."

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After eating a quick lunch, Mikey sneaked off to the lab to see if Leo was awake. He hadn't really had an opportunity to talk to him alone since everything that had happened, and he wanted to spend some time with him. He opened the door and walked over to his brother's bed. Leo's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow but even. Mikey sighed in disappointment and turned to leave, but stopped when he felt Leo's hand grab his.

"Stay, Mikey." Mikey gladly obeyed his brother's request, sitting on the chair next to Leo's bed. "Did you need something?"



"No, I just wanted to…." What had Mikey wanted to do? Talk to him? Just make sure he was alive? Mikey didn't really know. "I just wanted to say hi," he finished lamely.

Leo smiled. "Hi."

"Um, Leo?"

"M-hm?"

"I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, but… what was it like—ya know, thinking we were dead an' all?" When Leo didn't answer right away, Mikey shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I'm sorry, Leo. I didn't mean to…."

"No, it's okay Mikey. I need to talk about it." Leo looked him in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. "It was like my heart had been ripped out and I was still alive. Like… like a piece of me was mission. Three pieces, actually. It was hell."

"Oh." Mikey was almost sorry he had asked. He couldn't imagine losing all three of his brothers like that.

"Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Talk to me. Tell me about your comic books, or video games, or something… just talk to me. God, I missed hearing you talk." Mikey looked at his oldest brother, the horror of what he had been through beginning to sink in.

"Yeah, okay."

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The next chapter will be the last one. I hope you all liked this one. I already have an idea for my next TMNT fic and I'm really excited about. Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading faithfully.