The Perfect Son

Disclaimer: Said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't own them.

Chapter Twenty Five- Back home

Raphael:

I wasn't sure how tired Leo was after that battle and I was determined to be his back up. So, when he gave the order for us to head to the door, I compromised and took position at the bottom of the platform closest to the door.

I heard Leo telling Quan that he would live a failure. Inwardly, I sighed why had he bothered to challenge Quan to the death and not finish the job when he had half a chance to do so?

Hell, I doubt Quan would do the same if their position had been switched. It boiled down I guess to Leo being, simply Leo. The Perfect, honorable son. Gods, how much more perfect could he get? It was despicable.

Quan was just going come back and cause our family more trouble, even Leo had to know that, so why in the world was he letting him live?

It irritated the hell out of me.

I saw Leo rise, seeing him only from bout the waist up from my vantage point. I thought I saw a glint of movement. "Leo!" I yelled, pitching both of my sai towards where I had detected the movement.

I saw Leo dive, heard him roll and a slight thunk noise as something hit into the platform.

"Raph, Leo hurry"Don yelled goading us on.

My feet stayed planted, if anything I was determined to jump up on the stage and assist my brother, but then Leo jumped down beside me, handing me my sai, both were bloodied.

"Quan had no honour, he threw a knife, it barely missed me. Your weapons found their mark though," he informed me as he ran for the door.

"You really expected him to have honour?" I shot back as I followed after him. I grinned pleased that my weapons had finished the job that Leo had refused to do.

We could hear the Foot charging for us, with yells of vengeance, and death to turtles. They had risen themselves enough to realize that Quan was dead, we were making our get away and they were once again losing to us. They didn't even realize that Don ha planted another surprise for them around the door frame.

Leo and I jogged out the door as arrows were shot after us, we crossed the road to where the others waited by the river.

"Dive in" Mike called out as he jumped in to avoid the arrows and other projectile weapons tossed our way.

Christine balked shaking her head, "I can't swim."

Oh shit! I thought.

Leo squatted down, "Grab on around my neck Christine and take a deep breath."

"Ohhhhh noooooooo!" Christine wailed, even as she obeyed his words.

I dived for the water, with Leo just seconds behind me. As I hit the cold, muddy polluted water I heard the bomb going off behind us. I smiled a little knowing it would be a long time before the Foot would be coming looking for us, for revenge. They'd be busy looking for a new head quarters, trying to rebuild their numbers and find a new leader.

We finally returned to the lair, all of us were tired, cold and we knew we still had to clean and treat our injuries but nothing could dampen the sense of exhilaration and excitement at a battle well fought, and another victory won.

Don started to gather the first aid supplies to patch us up. His first concern was for Christine who was suffering from shock and freezing after her swim in the river in nothing more than the pajamas she'd been in when the Foot had grabbed her. Don sent her to take a shower or hot bath and found some sweat shirts and pants she could pull on.

Christine returned a short while later, and Don offered her a cup of tea and some blankets as well. She wrapped the blankets around herself graciously accepted the tea and then set to helping clean, stitch and bandage wounds, muttering and grumbling to herself about the risk of infection after being in such filthy water.

By the time we were all patched up Leo told Christine to go crash in his room and he'd sleep on the couch, both of them looked pretty dead on their feet and well past the state of sheer exhaustion. Leo was so tired he went and collapsed on the couch and was asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to clean the weapons he brought back, which was almost unheard of for him.

But then again he had been through a lot the last day or so and I figured he had more then earned his sleep now so I went into the dojo to clean the weapons, ours and the ones we had taken during the battle.

I wasn't quite through with the sword Don had retrieved for Leo, and I was admiring it. That katana was a mighty expensive and fine piece of workmanship and Leo ought to be very impressed with his latest weapon come morning.

Don and Mike came in "Ya coming to bed Raph?" Mike wondered.

"In a bit. How much you two want to bet that this will become Leo's favourite in no time?" I asked as I set to work polishing the wood and jade handle.

"Why do you think I got it for him? I didn't think Quan would have much use for it any more" Don replied casually.

I grinned, "Well after the events from tonight, I'd say that Leo earned this baby."

Next morning I found Christine up and in the kitchen, the borrowed sweat top and pants were a little large on her, but she looked far more alert then she had been last night. She had the coffee brewing and she poured me a mug.

"Raph can we talk somewhere privately?"

"Sure," I nodded sensing that this was important, "Come into my room." I suggested. I lead her back to my room.

My room isn't very clean, but it wasn't half as bad as Mike's room. There were some weights in the room that I kept in one corner, my bed. A bedside table with a lamp on it, pictures of hot looking cars, and even better looking pics of hot girls in bikinis. Anythin' that might have offended though was tucked well outta sight, I learned it was bettah that way specially when Splinter was around.

I gestured for her to sit on my bed while I leaned up against a wall. "So what's up?" I asked. I could tell by the tension in her body and slight signs of discomfort- like crossing and uncrossing her legs, fiddling with her hair and the like- that something was on her mind.

"It's about Leo." She replied.

"Leo? Hey, he's fine now. Right? I mean he obviously remembers about us, and fighting again." I essayed.

"Does he Raph? Is he the Leo you really remember?" She wondered.

I took a sip of my coffee and contemplated her words. I recalled Leo's sudden laughter when we were trapped in the hall way. His almost playful 'having fun Raph' when I had moved away from the others- before Leo would have given me heck for that as I was endangering myself and them. I also thought of the katana Leo had disarmed a solider of and left it lying there continuing to use his one sword and one sai combination.

"No," I admitted, "But he's still Leo right?" I had to ask but I hated the doubts she had suddenly planted in my mind.

She looked at me and shook her head slightly. "I don't really know what fully went on while we were there Raph. I don't know how much I ought to tell you, or if I ought to leave it for Leo to share with you if he cares to. But I've been debating with myself over it, and I feel someone else in his family has to know what is going on for him." She paused and took a deep breath, "If you chose to share this with your other brothers that is your choice. I'm sure you have a better idea how they can handle the news. I know Leo is home to stay now, and that much is good."Christine smiled, "This is where he belongs. But someone here better know that it is quite possible his problems are far from over."

I was getting a sinking feeling as she talked, what did she mean his problems were far from over. He remembered!

Slowly she explained, telling me what had transpired between her and Leo after their capture. I think my blood turned totally cold when she told how Leo had lost himself. "Wait, hold on…" I interrupted her, "Leo is probably the sanest one of all of us. Hell, the family believed for years that if anyone snapped in this family, it would be me" I thought about the time Splinter had been missing and I had just about killed Mike using a pipe wrench. "Leo go crazy. Uh- uh no way."

"That is just it though Raph, Leo holds a lot of his doubts, his misgivings inside of himself afraid to show them for fear people will think less of him. He has to lead you, and if he is wrong it could cost him someone he loves. What is that old saying still waters run deep?" She sighed, "You Raph might have a bad temper but you release your anger. You vent, you rant and rage and that is actually very healthy. It is your pressure valve, you let it out. Leo doesn't and it eats away at him like a cancer." She explained patiently.

She took a deep breath "All I know is for a while after he revealed his memories. He was laughing and screaming and crying all at once it seemed," She bit her lip, " then there was nothing from him for ages he wouldn't talk or make any noise. His eyes were flat and lifeless, empty and hollow. I knew he had withdrawn somewhere inside of himself and I was afraid he'd never come out."

I saw Christine shake a little as she picked up her own coffee mug and sipped from it. "I don't even know for sure how he came out of it. But in all honesty Raph he quite literally walked through a hell of his own making, one he could have stayed in for the rest of his life, and been no more then a vegetable. But he found a way out of it and back to us."

I tried to think of Leo as a vegetable, and what kind of life that would be. Hell, if I ended up like that I'd sooner some one kill me.

Christine continued, "I was surprised after all that, Leo managed not only to come out of it, but almost instantly go to planning our escape, not to mention the amount of fighting he did. I don't know how he managed to do it all."

I wiped a hand over my face as I listened to her, no cold shower in the world could have woken me up or shocked me more then what her words did.

"Leo, may never return to being the Leo you once knew. No one can go through that and come out unchanged not to mention that he probably isn't fully recovered yet. There might be a chance for him to relapse too, to shut himself down again." Christine stated, "He has a long road to travel yet, and I can't say what his future holds for him. I do know he will need help and support from his friends and family. A lot of what happens might depend more on those around him."

I sighed and hung my head. I knew she had held back a few things. But as she said some things might be more for Leo to tell us, as he felt we needed to know. I could see why she wanted someone else to know.

It was hard for me to view Leo, the Perfect son as being the ones to lose his marbles, or end up a few fries short of his happy meal.

In one way I wished she hadn't told me all that she had. In another, I was just as glad that she had let me know about Leo for she had a point. Someone had to look out for Leo, though I had to wonder why the hell it had to be me.

"What caused it Christine, just his memories returning?"

"I'm not sure. Possibly. Or it could have been what the memories caused inside of him. He felt he failed, you, his family."

"Failed us how?"

Christine gave another negative shake of her head. "I'm not sure only Leo knows and only he can tell. All I'm sure of is that he said he had failed his family, all of you, that he hadn't been able to live up to being perfect." Her voice quavered a little as she spoke next " that's why I'm the perfect son, it's expected of me."

I gulped those words, I could easily believe that Leo had said them, or something similar enough to it. I sighed and bowed my head as I realized Christine was right Leo had only begun to recover.

"Can we expect him to relapse and lock himself up again, what do we do if he does?" I wondered suddenly feeling lost and uncertain.

"I don't know I'll look into it Raph. I wish I could tell you something promising but I don't want to lie and I don't want to give you false hope.

I heaved a long frustrated sigh and knew I'd have to inform Don of this, see what he could learn. It wasn't that I wasn't grateful for all this wonderful information from her. It was just I had to wonder what it would mean for all of us in the long run.

Leonardo:

Later that morning I walked with Christine through the sewers, to take her back home.

"You know Christine there is no way that, my brothers or I could repay the debt that we owe you."

"Oh don't worry I wasn't going give you my medical bill." She teased me.

I shook my head and chuckled a little. "Not that. You helped return me to my family and my home. A lot of people would have locked me in a zoo, sold me to who ever. It's always good to know there are people out there who can see past the hate the prejudice and lend a hand to someone else, no matter who they are or what they look like." I pointed out. "You did a great deal and didn't even know the true cost to yourself."

"You guys saved my life last night Leo. We are even."

"No Christine. You saved my life, and I put yours in jeopardy. Your life wouldn't have been endangered if the Foot hadn't learned of the connection between you and us. The Foot have and will probably try to use you as a pawn in our war in the future. You are the means of them getting us." I explained wearily. "Don has all ready told me of the security measures, he plans to put in to your apartment, and we'll be keeping an eye on you. Being our friend isn't a good idea, we tend to endanger our friend's lives- not intentionally- but through our enemies."

Christine stopped and she reached out and took my hand "Leo if you are trying to scare me off forget it. I knew when I found you that you could change my life. I'm not going run and hide because you changed it in ways I wasn't counting on," She confessed. "Besides Leo, I care about you, and your brothers. I want to see you, and learn more fighting skills, I want you boys to feel free to drop by. Heck, after last night I wouldn't mind learning how to use weapons." She let my hand go. "So, Leo are you going tell your brothers what happened to you?"

I shook my head, "They need me now. More than ever, now that Splinter is gone…" I replied feeling an ache as I thought of my father now gone. That had so far been a hard thing for me to accept now.

"Bull Shit Leo!" Christine snapped and whirled to look at me, "Who has been there for your family since Splinter died? Give your brothers a little credit, they have proven that they won't fall apart without you. Leo you can't go on the way you did before. You can't be perfect for them," She declared.

I hung my head, knowing my brothers needed me to shoulder the burden, to be strong for them. The responsibility of the family rested with me.

She looked at me her eyes pleading "Don't try to do it alone Leo. Just promise me you will think about it?"

I gave her a small smile, at the concern in her tone and the fear in her eyes. I had to wonder what she feared. I didn't understand why she would worry so about this, but to put her mind at ease I promised her I would consider what she had said.

"Good, remember Raph doesn't think you are perfect" She said as she gave me a hug and brushed a quick kiss across my cheek. "Take care of yourself Leo I'll see you soon." She whispered before she headed up the ladder to the streets above.

I watched her go a part of me upset for placing her life in danger with our enemies and yet at the same time I felt thankful that even though she knew the risks she still wanted to be a part of our lives.

I trusted Christine, more then I think I trusted April or Casey, and I had a feeling that I might need her somewhere further on in my life. But I couldn't fully grasp the hows or the whys of it. I just knew the bonds of trust between us had all ready helped me and they would be there again if I needed it.

I hadn't told her in a strange way by saving my life and choosing to stay our friend, she had become a part of our family. We would watch over her, care for her, help her if she needed. We were bound by honour and debt to her now.

Due to that, I knew I would seriously consider my promise to her, even though I knew that my family needed me to be the responsible one for her. Now more than ever. Yet, a part of me wanted nothing more than to shirk that duty and I didn't know yet how I was going resolve the dilemma that came from these thoughts.

TBC