Leo glanced over at his youngest brother as he stretched his legs, then bounced on the balls of his feet. Despite the smile the sight brought to his face, he couldn't help but feel worried too. This was Mikey's first time joining them on patrol since he'd been injured, and Leo knew the others were on edge too. Even Donnie had been reluctant to proclaim the youngest turtle fit, and Leo had a sneaking suspicion that he'd stretched it out as far as he could.

As much trouble as a stir-crazy Mikey could be, Leo and the others would take that any day if it would keep their youngest brother safe just a little longer. But they couldn't protect him from everything, as much as they wanted to… especially after what their ignorance nearly cost him.

"You feel okay, Mikey?" Leo asked, keeping his voice casual. But from the look of amused exasperation on the youngest turtle's face, Mikey was seeing right through it.

"Fit as a fiddle, bro!" he replied cheerfully. "Dr. Don gave me the whole nine yards, remember?"

"Leave 'im alone, Leo," Raph said with a smirk. "If we made him stay another night, ya know he wouldn't stop whinin' till we let 'im come."

Mikey flashed his older brother a big, toothy smile.

"Aw, thanks for believin' in me, Raph!" His face fell just a little. "I wish Grace and Hamari could come, though."

Donnie moved to give Mikey's shoulder a reassuring pat.

"I know, Mikey. But we need to get some intel first… and I know they're not ready to fight their family yet."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Mikey nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

Leo felt his mouth twitch into a sad smile. Mikey's caring nature was no surprise to any of them anymore, but he still found himself admiring his youngest brother for it. Anyone who'd been though even half the things he had would have every reason to be bitter, but not Mikey. Even if his light flickered sometimes, it never went out, and Leo was surer than ever that that it wouldn't for the rest of his life.

And his brothers would do everything they could to make sure that life lasted a long time.

"You don't have to feel bad about it, Mike," Leo said, his voice gentle.

His younger brother looked up, his smile back but his eyes still sad.

"I know," he said again. "I just want to do something to help them, after everything."

A small half-grin on his face, Raph stepped over and gave Mikey's shoulder a gentle tap with his fist.

"'Course ya do," he said, his always gruff tone soft. "And we're all gonna have yer back on that."

Mikey's smile widened and Leo saw a brightness in his eyes that he now realized he hadn't seen for some time.

"You guys are the best bros a guy can ask for."

Leo felt his heart ache with feeling, and a small bit of guilt. They hadn't always deserved to be called that, he was ashamed to admit. But now Leo knew that Raph and Donnie were now just as determined as him to be what their little brother always saw them as.

"Ready to go?"

The sound of Hamari's voice made the brothers turn to see her and Grace approaching. Both were smiling, but Leo could see the anxious concern in Grace's eyes as they immediately moved to Mikey, scanning him up and down. The youngest turtle's face tugged into a gentle smile of his own and he stepped forward to wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, there," he said. "No worryin' about me, remember?"

The human girl let out a tremulous chuckle as she pressed close, tucking her head under Mikey's chin.

"And I said that's impossible, remember?" she murmured. "After what happened to you, I…"

When she trailed off, her voice quivering, Mikey pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I know, babe," he soothed, running his fingers through her hair. "But it's okay now. And I'll be careful, I promise."

"An' we'll hold 'im to it," Raph said, raising a brow as he smirked at his youngest brother. "Ya can count on that."

Mikey let out a half amused, half irritated huff.

"Come on, dude," he whined, "You guys worry too much!"

Leo chuckled as he reached over to pat his little brother's head.

"Maybe, but we've got big brother privileges."

Hamari then spoke up, a teasing grin on her face.

"And Grace has girlfriend privileges."

Leo couldn't help chuckling again when he saw a faint blush come to both Mikey and Grace's face. Neither were uncomfortable with each other by any means now, but that didn't mean some good-natured ribbing didn't embarrass them sometimes. Grace drew back and smiled up at Mikey as she cupped his cheek with her hand.

"Just watch yourself, okay, Romeo?" she teased. "Tough as you are, you're not made of steel."

Mikey placed his hand over hers, his eyes soft and gentle.

"Don't worry, Grace. I'm not planning on goin' anywhere for a good long time."

Feeling his own smile widen a little, Leo slung an arm over Mikey's shoulders.

"None of us do," he said. "And we all make sure of it."

Grace's eyes moved to him for a moment, and she gave a grateful nod before looking back at Mikey. The youngest turtle chuckled.

"I'll be careful," he reassured. "Anything Don says, I'll do. Promise."

That brought a smile to Grace's face, and she stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss.

"Don't forget, it's a promise," she murmured. "See you when you get back."

The youngest turtle gave her forehead a gentle bump with his own.

"Sure thing, babe."

Leo had moved to stand with Donnie and Raph, giving the two their moment. When Mikey turned to join them, he raised a brow.

"What, enjoyin' the show?" he asked slyly.

Raph let out a scoff and gave his younger brother's shoulder a light tap with his fist.

"Kinda hard not t' see when ya do it in front a' everyone, hot shot."

Mikey's grin grew a little sheepish, and he rubbed his neck as the brothers left the lair and headed toward the surface.

"Heh, yeah. Sorry, bros."

Donnie chuckled.

"No need to apologize, little bro. We're just glad to see you guys happy."

Mikey's smile widened, then grew a little distant.

"I'm still a little worried, though," he said. "Her and Hamari don't talk about it much, but I can tell this whole situation's really rough for them."

Leo let out a quiet sigh, feeling some concern of his own for their friends.

"Well, it would be on anyone, I suppose. But all we can do is support them till they're ready to take the next step, whatever that is."

"Yeah, I know," Mikey sighed. "I just hope everything works out. I hate to think of them cut off from their family for good."

"Us too, bro," Raph said, giving Mikey a nudge with his shoulder. Leo caught the slight edge in his hotheaded brother's voice, and somehow knew what he was thinking. If the events of the past weeks hadn't happened, if they had never been pushed to the resulting reconciliation, would their family have ended up broken in the same way? Leo found he didn't want to know… the thought of that scared him more than anything or anyone he'd ever faced in battle.

AN: So SO sorry for the wait. Real life weighing me down.