Chapter 5 Fatherly Love
With all of his strength Splinter somehow managed to bring an unconscious Casey back to the lair in one piece. "My sons I am home" Splinter announced as he walked into the lair. "Welcome home Sensei" Leo greeted him when he saw that Splinter brought home company. "Master Splinter who is that?" "Somebody who needs help Leonardo. He is gravely ill" Splinter answered as Leo helped put Casey on the couch. "Leonardo I'm going to need your help in caring for this young man while I look after Raphael since he has been turned into a child" Splinter requested. "Of course Sensei" said Leo. Mikey walked into the living room and saw Casey on the couch. "Oh wow we have a house guest. That's a first" declared Mikey. Splinter called Donnie to the living room and he was holding his brother Raph who was still a child. After that Splinter explained to his sons what happened while he was out. "So this guy was raised by Shredder and told him you're the reason why his mom is gone and sent him to take you out and fainted before he could land a finishing blow because he has a nasty fever?" Donnie questioned. "Yes and I believe he was very much misguided throughout his life" Splinter said as Leo was instructed to bring medicine and a cold compress. "This medicine should break his fever. After that he needs to rest for a while. This poor young man has a nasty head cold. It's getting late I'm going to put Raphael to bed. Good night my sons." "Good night Master Splinter" Leo, Donnie and Mikey said as they turned in for the night. "Raphael although you're very cute I hope Donatello can turn you back to your original age. I haven't cared for a baby in a very long time" Splinter told the young Raph as he rocked Raph back and forth to get him to relax and go to sleep. Splinter is happy that he was able to get Raph to go to sleep because he was tired himself.
As the night goes on a thunder storm was happening outside. Thunder and lightning was going off like crazy. Leo, Mikey and Donnie managed to sleep through it. As for Raphael he woke up scared and crying. "DADDY!" Raph called out to Splinter who immediately heard his son and went to his room. "Raphael I'm here no more crying" Splinter said as he picked up Raph and comforted him. "I'm scare! Are we going to be ok?" cried Raph. "Yes my son just remember we are safe indoors and I'm here for you" Splinter assured him as he hugged Raph. "I'm sleepy" Raph yawns as he rubs his eyes and stretches. "I'm tired as well. It's time for you to go back to bed" Splinter pointed out as he tried to tuck Raph in. "NO! I don't want to sleep alone. Can I sleep with you please? I'm still scare!" cried the young turtle. "Very well but just for tonight is that understood?" asked Splinter. Raph nodded his head and Splinter carried him to his personal quarters. As the night went on Casey woke up and wasn't feeling as sick as before. "Where in the world am I and where is that rat?" Casey asked himself as he got up to look around the lair. Casey found Splinter's room with the door slightly opened and decided to take a peek inside. He was surprised to see the rat that he was sent to destroy caring for a child. "He is nothing as I imagined him" Casey thought to himself as he continued to watch Splinter care for the young turtle. "Daddy I'm too scare to go back to sleep. I had a bad dream" Raph cried. "What was your dream about?" Splinter asked. "I was falling and I kept calling you because I needed help but you weren't around. I didn't know what to do" Raph answered as he started crying more. "Calm down Raphael. Dreams can't hurt you. If you were falling I promise to be there to catch you don't ever forget that. Would you like me to sing a Japanese lullaby to help you fall asleep? Splinter said to Raph who smiled and nodded yes. Splinter started singing a Japanese lullaby he used to sing to all of his sons when they were still children. Splinter never thought he would be doing it again. Casey left Splinter to continue caring for the young turtle and went back to the couch to lie down. As Casey was lying on the couch he thought about his own childhood and how Shredder never really showed him much fatherly love. "Splinter is nothing like father said he is. From what I saw he seems like a good and loving mutant who loves and cares about his child. Nothing like my father was to me" Casey said as he shed a few silent tears which is something he didn't allow himself to do for many years because of the way he was brought up.