The Perfect Son
Disclaimer: I don't own them now, won't own them later. Guess they aren't mine.
Chapter Ten- Back Home
Raph was the one who decided to meet Christine and Leo, to guide them to the safety of the lair. It was the first time that Leo had dared to leave Christine's apartment since he had woken up in the spare room.
He felt nervous and shifted uneasily as they stepped out into the back alley. Don had dropped off a package the night before, "After hearing you'd be visiting our place we thought it would be wise to give Leo something to wear."
The package had contained a long trench coat and a hat. Leo was impressed with how well it fit him, and he enjoyed the anonymity the coat and hat gave him when he pulled it on. It was the only thing that gave him comfort, now as he shrank into the folds of the coat.
"Shouldn't we go?" He asked gesturing towards the street.
"Raph is suppose to come meet us." Christine replied.
"But standing here isn't a good idea," Leo muttered uneasily, he started to walk towards the end of the alley when he felt a strong hand drop onto his shoulder and grip him firmly.
"Don't go there Leo! Get back in the shadows and follow me," Raph growled, he shot a quick dirty look at Christine. "We don't go out in the open, we keep hidden got it?"
Leo rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Sure. So how are we getting to your place, sprout wings and fly?"
"We don't need wings where we're going" Raph stated, as he gestured for the two to follow him to the nearest man hole cover. He noted that Christine had wisely, decided to wear a pair of boots, probably a wise decision on her part as it had been raining quite a bit the last few days and some of the sewers were a little fuller of water than normal.
As they made their way through the tunnels Raph kept half an eye on Leo, half hoping he'd start to recognize some of the landmarks that would lead to the lair, land marks that only the turtle family or friends would know.
Leo however, just followed along in Christine's wake, until they reached the lair. Raph pushed open the concealed door, and invited the two guests into their home, "it ain't much but we call it home."
Leo looked around, it was dry, and cozy looking. In spite of the rain and extra water in the surrounding pipes there was no sign of water in the section of tunnels the turtles called home.
There was a woven mat near the door, to wipe feet on. There was a tattered thread bare carpet, it's original colour undistinguishable now, it lay in the middle of what was clearly a living room area. A large battered couch, with stuffing poking out of it sat there along with two arm chairs in similar condition as the couch. There was also an old rocking chair. There was a long coffee table and a couple end tables, all scratched up. There was a large screen TV and, thanks to Don, it was connected to major surround sound system.
There were candles burning and the gentle aroma of sandalwood incense. Off to the left of the living room was the sound of rattling dishes and a scrumptious aroma wafted out filling the home.
"Come on. I'll show ya, around." Raph told them, after they had a chance to take off their coats, he lead them through the living room towards the dojo.
"This is our practice area." He said, hoping the sight of the room would help.
Exercise mats covered about half the floor of the large section of pipes that had been set aside for the dojo. The other half was sort of a gym and work out area, ropes for climbing, pipes over head for balance, rowing machines, exercise bikes, weight lifting equipment and a couple of punching bags. Weapons were stored on one wall or secured in racks. There was a set of showers.
Splinter's old room was across from the dojo, and placed against the back of the kitchen. The section of pipe they were in looped around passing the boy's bedroom.
"My room, Mike's and Leo's" Raph pointed to each one, a bathroom. "Go through the living room, towards the kitchen and to the left is Don's area- his lab, bedroom and hospital for us."
Christine snorted, "I'm jealous, this is better than my apartment. Cheaper too I'll bet."
"Yup!" Raph agreed quickly, " We have electricity, running water and even heat. Though winter time we still feel a bit o' da cold down here," he admitted, "But basically we do have all the comforts of home."
Leo glanced around he didn't know what it was, but he did feel oddly at peace here. There was nothing to assure him that this was his home, nothing that looked familiar. 'It's the same thing. No connection no nothing.' He mused to himself.
Still, he couldn't deny that he did feel relaxed and at peace here, far more so than when he was in Christine's apartment -which had always felt a little wrong to him.
"Do you mind if I check out the room you said was mine?" He asked hesitantly.
Raph arched his eye ridges at that query "Go for it. Ya know where your going now right?"
Leo nodded his head, before turning to head back towards the bedrooms.
"Maybe, I was wrong." Raph muttered, as he watched Leo head back the way they had come.
If Christine had heard him, she made no reply.
Leo found his way back to the bedroom and entered he glanced around, there was a mattress that was stained, had a few holes against one wall, there was a headboard with an area for books within it. There was some shelves made out of cement blocks and boards, and a night stand with a lamp and a candle.
There was a book on the nightstand, as well as various books set inside the head board and on the makeshift shelves. Leo picked up the book on the nightstand " Bushido- The soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe." he read it.
Then flipped through the book noticing passages that had been marked off by someone, but nothing in it looked familiar not even the stuff about the sword being the soul of the Samurai. Nor the part that remarked that Giri was the sense of duty.
Leo shook his head and placed the book back down on the nightstand. Then he glanced at the other books - there was some on meditation, enlightenment, weapons, fighting skills and so on there was there was The Art of War by Sun Tzu, A book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi and other similar themed books.
"Not exactly a recreational reader, were you?" he asked the air around him.
Something patted at his foot, and he jumped back startled, only to see a grey paw reach out from under the bed spread that was folded back on the mattress. Leo squatted down and looked under the bedspread to see a pair of yellow glowing eyes.
"Come here," he coaxed, the cat emerged and rubbed against him, seeking attention. Leo obliged the cat by caressing it's face and back. The cat began a deep rumbling purr, rolled over on to it's back and when Leo went to rub it's belly the cat nipped at his finger playfully, before rolling to all four and running away with tail in the air.
Leo chuckled a little, then sat on the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath, waiting in the stillness, the room felt strange too him. He'd almost been hoping to find something, anything that said this place belonged to him.
This room just makes me feel like a stranger, not, it's proper occupant. No memories came to tell him, this was his place. He couldn't even recall a single word he had read out of any of the books he saw in there, though he could recite passages from books he had read at Christine's place.
He heaved a heavy sigh, rose from the bed "I don't belong here," he said as he left the room and shut the door behind him.
Leo was thankful, that when he returned to the living room, no one had bothered to ask him if he remembered anything, or learned something about himself. He wasn't quite sure how to answer that other than to be truthful, and he knew the truth would be a let down to everyone here.
Shortly after Mike popped into the living room "Dinner is served," he announced in a very snooty kind of way.
Raph grinned and chuckled, "You'll love Mike's cooking, though I'll warn ya he isn't beyond experimenting with food."
"Are you telling us we are in trouble then?" Leo asked as he joined the others heading towards the kitchen.
"Nope, he's never botched anything. It all comes out tasting pretty good. Far better than what don or I could do, that's for sure. I mean we can all cook, but Mike is the chef of the family." Raph replied.
The cat was now weaving around Mike's ankles howling, "Alright Klunk, you'll get yours later on. Now get out from under foot before you break my neck," Mike insisted.
Christine laughed, "Klunk? Where did you come up with such a name, it sounds like it ought to belong to a fainting goat!"
Mike shrugged, "It suited him." He laughed, "A fainting goat?"
"No Mike you can't have one," Don interjected quickly.
Christine grinned, " It's a goat that was bred specifically for certain reasons - it's sort of a mutant and bred that way, so when it gets over excited, scared or what have you it falls over into a faint."
Mike beamed at the thought his mind all ready envisioning all the ways he could have fun with a goat that fell over.
"This is no place for a goat Mike," Don declared, "You are not having one or getting one. You have Klunk."
"But Don, think of what I could do with a goat that could faint. I could find more then a hundred ways to make a goat go thud." Mike claimed jubilantly.
"Ya know if he's buggin' a goat he wouldn't be botherin' us Donny." Raph said, feeling that alone made it worth while.
"NO!" Don declared.
Christine and Leo both laughed at the three turtles debated the possibilities.
Dinner consisted of teriyaki chicken breast with pineapple chunks, salad with vinaigrette dressing, baked potatoes with all the fixings and stir fried vegetables mixed with Asian noodles and bits of nuts.
Christine sampled all of it and looked at Mike "you want to come be my Chef?"
"Sure, I'm easy but I don't come cheap" Mike agreed.
"Well, you can work off what Leo here owes me." Christine decided.
"Like hell I will. Leo can pay off his own debt. You, can pay me from day one up front." Mike demanded.
"Wait a minute Christine you aren't taking Mike from us, I told ya we can all cook but I ain't gonna survive on what Donny cooks."
"Your cooking isn't much better Raph," Don interjected quickly.
"Don has a wonderful mind but his cooking isn't much," Raph pointed out.
"So Leo cooked too?" Christine pressed.
"He did, nothing too fancy most of us are all heat and serve other than Mikey, which is why Mike has ended up as the main cook for the family," Don explained, "Mike is very creative, he writes, draws and cooks. He is inventive in his own way."
"We do the dishes once they pile up, or we run out of clean ones."
"Ah, the bachelor's life. I understand perfectly, Raphael." Christine acknowledged with a nod of her head.
"If you think this is good wait until dessert. I've made my famous- it's so heavenly I can't wait to die, four layered chocolate berry fudge cake." Mike announced.
"Wow! Sounds like mega calories," Christine muttered.
"Nope. I didn't add any calories. I made sure to take them out," Mike insisted.
"With or without sauces?" Raph inquired.
"White chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce with whipped cream," Mike replied.
"Don't tell me, you boys eat like this all the time?" Christine gasped.
"No, not every night," Mike chuckled a little, "But tonight with the guests and everything I decided to go for something special."
Don grinned, "Mike's desserts are truly decadent."
Raph chuckled and added, "Mike would have us all fat if we didn't work out as often as we do."
Mike served a mint tea with their dessert Christine took one bite of the cake and her eyes rolled up ward.
"Whatever you want Mike it is worth it!" She declared referring to their earlier conversation.
Mike laughed, his eyes sparkled merrily behind the red mask, "you like it Leo?"
"I love it. I've never tasted anything like this, but I could get use to it."
"I'll send some home with you," Mike promised.
It was a few hours after dinner and the group were sitting in the living room talking with one another.
Leo had inquired why all three of them wore the red masks.
Raph had given an indifferent shrug, "It's a ninja thing!"
Christine gave a sly smile and leaned forward in her chair, "I wouldn't mind seeing you three boys do a work out, or are you still too stuffed to move?" She wondered.
"Nah, I was thinking of going in for some practice just to ease off dinner some," Raph admitted as he patted his lower plastron. He sent a silent message to Don and Mike, who both gave very subtle nods.
"We usually have an evening session, anyways. So, come on and watch if you like." Don suggested kindly.
"Want to come watch Leo?" Mike asked.
Leo shrugged and seemed to sink further into his chair, "I don't think so."
"Oh come on Leo! No one is asking you to join in, you just have to watch. In some ways it is nothing more than intricate dance steps. It's an art. Art can be nice to look at," Christine urged, "You might enjoy it. Watch just a little bit and if you don't like it then fine, you don't have to watch any more."
Leo heaved a heavy sigh, his eyes narrowed, giving Christine a pained stare. "Why is it you can make something, I don't want to do, sound so much like I have a choice and that no harm can ever come of it," he accused. "Not to mention I have a hard time refuting it."
"I have no idea what you are talking about Leo," Christine replied innocently.
Leo gave her a dirty look but finally relented.
Raph grinned, allowing his own body to relax -Score another fer da Lady. She got Leo here, and she's got him to watch a practice. Maybe, Mike was right bout her and Leo.
They headed for the dojo at first it was quite clear that the three boy's concentration was off. But soon Raph, Don and Mike relaxed and got into the fluid moves of feigned attack, counterattack and increased the speed of their strikes.
Christine watched in awe, she had seen such displays before but never quite with the efficiency or speed that the boys showed. The years of battle and study for it had made them warriors and it showed.
She snuck a look at Leo who lounged against the wall, watching. But his face and eyes showed no interest or recognition, of the moves that were being made, the weapons being used or stored away. There was no acceptance that he was -once-as good as his brother's proved to be.
She had seen the same look on Leo's face when he had emerged from his old bedroom, it had been empty then and it was empty now. In fact the only difference she had detected in Leo was that he seemed far more relaxed here, as if a small part of him knew he was home.
But clearly that just wasn't enough.
It was obvious to Christine that the visit had not done what she had hoped. The blank look, his disinterest said it all. He still didn't remember - or maybe, he chose not to remember.
Christine felt an ache, inside of herself. A deep ache for Leo who clearly had lost so much of himself, and for some reason didn't want it back, and for his brothers, who needed Leo back. Back in their lives and family, have Leo accept them for who they were.
Christine sighed softly and turned back to watch the others, determined to help his brothers to find a way to get Leo back.
'Leo what are we doing to you, and what will it take to get you back?' She mused to herself as Leo turned and left the dojo, clearly he had seen enough and no longer wished to be present.
TBC
Author's Note: A few things here. I have based this story more off the old Eastman and Laird comics and in those all four turtles wore red masks. The books Leo looks at in his bedroom are actually, real books I own all of them as well as numerous books on ninjitsu.