A/N: No reviews for the last chapter? Oh well, I am quite proud of this story. This is the longest chapter I have ever written. Think of it as the grand finale! Hope you enjoy! BTW the tender moments between the brothers are NOT TURTLECEST! They are loving brother moments!

I do not own TMNT

Donatello sat in the lab, mindlessly tinkering with the toaster that had been broken yet again. Normally, he would have been furious that it had spent more time in his lab than in the kitchen, but he found the tense silence except for the steady drip of the IV into Leo's arm calming in some way. Behind him lay his brother and Sam. The moment they had gotten home, Raph and Mikey had brought Leo's mattress into the lab and laid the still unconscious Sam on it. She looked even worse than Don had first anticipated, but Leo's situation was much more life threatening. Thinking of his brother, Don gently set the toaster down and turned his chair. His brother was lying on the cot that was used for medical purposes, but that hadn't stopped Don from tricking it out. From what he had seen on television shows, it was pretty close to what hospital bed were like. It was one of Donatello's most prized accomplishments as it provided his family more comfort when injured than they had had in the past. Chiding himself internally for focusing on the machine rather than the person lying on top of it, Donatello looked over his brother's broken body once again. Bruises and sores covered Leo's body, leaving him to believe that Leo had been beaten pretty well in order to be captured nearly a week ago. On top of those wounds lay entry points of the hundreds of wires and tubes that had been connected to his body, trapping him in the virtual prison Stockman had put him in. Don had grabbed a few of the wires as well as downloaded the program while they were at the warehouse, and in the nearly six hours they had been home, he still hadn't been able to figure out how Stockman had done it. He had given up nearly an hour ago and moved onto the toaster, but he had no motivation, and his coffee high was fading. It was nearly breakfast. Raph should be coming to relieve him soon.

"Hey,"

Thinking of the devil, Don humorlessly laughed to himself. "Hey," he croaked back.

Raph stepped inside the crowded lab and took the only other chair next to Leo. "How they doin'?" he whispered.

"No change." Don sighed. "Sam's still freezing. I can't get her warm for some reason. I'll go get her another blanket." Don stood to walk out of the lab, but Raph shot up and pushed him back down.

"I'll get it. You look like you're about ready to keel over." Raph hurried out of the room, and Don knelt down next to Sam. He checked her pulse, then her breathing. Next he checked her eyes, and just as he was checking the brace on her ankle, Raph walked in with a thick wool blanket.

"How's she lookin'?" Raph asked as he helped Don drape the blanket over her.

"The brace is holding up okay. Her leg is fine. I'm mostly worried about her head. We shouldn't have let her fall asleep. She has a bad concussion." The guilt and worry gripping Don's stomach was almost painful.

"She'll be fine, Don. So will Leo. They're both fighters." Raph said as he patted his brother's shoulders. Sensing that Don was still stressed over it, he pulled him into a hug and lovingly patted his head. "Don't worry Don." He whispered.

Don shivered in his brother's arms. Raph rarely showed physical endearment, so he must really know that something was wrong. "I know," he whispered after a moment. "I'm just scared, Raph."

"I know Don. I am too."

Raph was staring at Leo absentmindedly three hours later when Mikey walked in with a pile of food.

"Hey dude," Mikey said quietly, acknowledging the solemn atmosphere. "Brought you some food." He said as he handed Raph the plate.

"Thanks bud." Raph said quietly. Raph was expecting him to leave, but Mikey sat down in the chair next to him and gingerly laid a hand on Leo's. "You okay, Mike?"

Mikey was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I'm just worried."

"We all are, bro." Raph said as he patted his brother's arm.

Minutes of silence passed between them, then Mikey spoke up. "Do you wonder why Sam came back? After what happened?"

Raph lightly laughed. "Yeah, I do. I was sure we would never see her again."

"Why do you think she did?"

"For Leo." Raph said immediately.

"Do you think she would have come back if this hadn't happened?"

"Maybe. She risked everything for Leo, just like last time."

"Did you miss her?" Mikey asked quietly.

"Shell yeah. Did you?"

"Yeah. It was weird to have a girl besides April around all the time. She's a lot different than April. I know Leo missed her, too. I think part of him died that night." Mikey said softly. "Remember how different he was after he met her?"

Raph was quiet for a moment, remembering. "Yeah, it was nice. He was around us a lot more. He wasn't high and mighty leader. He was more like a brother."

"I miss that Leo." Mikey said sadly. "What do you think'll happen when they wake up?"

"I dunno, but you won't have to wait very long." Raph said as he noticed Sam starting to shift. "Will you go get Don?" Raph said as he knelt next to Sam.

"R….Raph?" Sam asked groggily. Her eyes were unfocused and she looked disoriented.

"Hey, how many fingers am I holdin' up?" He said as he checked her forehead.

"Two and a thumb." She said quietly.

"Smart alec." He grumbled.

"Well I know it cant be three or four, dumbo." She snickered.

"Glad to see your personality is still intact." Raph said. "You wanna sit up?"

"Uh, not yet. I ache everywhere." She said, and Raph noted a single tear dripping down the side of her face.

"Where does it hurt Sam?" Raph asked quickly. "Donnie!" he yelled out the door.

"Ow, Raph! My head hurts, for starters." She sighed.

"Sorry. Don'll be here in a sec."

"Doctor Don is in the house!" Mikey announced rather loudly and Raph glared at him as Don knelt on the other side of Sam. "Oh, sorry Sami." Mikey said quietly as he stepped behind Raph and sat next to Leo.

"Hey Sam. How many fingers do you see?" Don said as he held a hand over her face. Raph started to talk, but Don shushed him.

"Two and a thumb. It's still a little blurry, but tons better."

Don laughed at her spunk. Shell, how he had missed her. He pointed to something and Raph grabbed a book behind him on the desk and handed it to Don. He opened the book and held it over Sam.

"Can you read the first line?" Don noted how her eyes narrowed and she took a moment to focus, but he was pleased when she was able to read it.

"Great." He said quietly as he got up and grabbed his bag. He started checking her eyes, breathing, pulse and brace again. "Your ankle is broken, and you have a bed concussion, but you should be okay. Are you hungry at all?"

"A little." She whispered, wincing.

"Kay, Raph will get you some food and I'll get you some painkillers." Raph was out the door before Don had finished his sentence and was back by the time Don had opened the bottle of pills.

"Uh, Donnie. Leo's waking up." Mikey said quietly in the corner.

Don quickly handed the pills to Raph and joined his other brother.

"Raph," Sam whispered, her eyes tearing up. "Can you help me to the living room? I can't be in here."

Raph nodded and quickly took the plate of food into the living room before returning and gingerly lifting Sam and gently walking to the living room. He laid her on the sofa and knelt beside her after handing her her food. Sam just stared at it.

"You okay?" Raph said after a moment.

She sniffed and sighed. "I shouldn't be here." She whispered. Raph waited patiently for her to continue, the memories they shared coming to the front of his mind. Talks like this had been frequent before, and he was surprised at how much he had missed her. "He hates me."

"Leo? You're crazy if you think that." Raph said gruffly.

"No, I'm not. Why did he do what he did if he didn't hate me?"

Raph was silent. He didn't know the answer, though he had a pretty good guess. "You'll have to ask him. But I know damn well that he don't hate you, Sam."

Sam was silent, and another tear trickled down her cheek. Raph reached up and caught it with his finger. "I've missed you, Sam. Things weren't the same after that night." He said sadly.

"I've missed you too, Raph. I've been a mess since then. Part of me was missing. It felt like I was living in a dream until Karai caught Leo."

Awkward silence rested between them, and Raph caught soft voices coming from the lab.

"Raph, when can I leave?" Sam asked hurriedly, her voice pained.

"I dunno, but not for a while. Why?" He was hurt that she wanted to leave so soon.

"I can't see him. I have to stay away. Clean breaks are easier to heal. Just being here is making it worse."

"Sam, he doesn't hate you." Raph said gruffly. "Get that through your thick skull, you stubborn, hard-headed, tempermental…" Raph said loudly, but he stopped when he heard her laughing. He got even more angry that she was laughing at him, but his breath caught when she fell onto him and wrapped her arms around him.

"God, Raphael…" She said, and he felt tears running down his plastron. "God, I have missed you."

"Leo?" Raph said from the doorway. Leo looked over to his brother. The aching and pain gripping at ever inch of him seemed to melt away.

"Raph." He croaked, and his brother stepped forward. Mikey and Donnie quietly slipped out of the lab.

"Hey, bro, how are you feeling?" Raph asked quietly. Leo softly smiled, and Raph looked at him, puzzled.

"Sam is here, isn't she?" Raph shifted backwards in surprise, and Leo softly laughed. "You were always less temperamental and more calm when she was around." He said sadly.

"Everyone was different when she was around." Raph said quietly, and a few moment of awkward silence passed. "You didn't answer my question, Leo." Raph accused gruffly.

"I'm fine," Leo said quietly.

"You look like hell, Leo." Raph said lightly, and Leo breathed a laugh.

"Yeah, I know. You told me, remember?"

"You looked worse then," Raph said.

Leo cringed, remembering what had happened. "It was hell, Raph." Tears stung his eyes.

"I know, but it wasn't real, Leo. We didn't die. We're all right here, and we aren't going anywhere." Raph said sternly as he gently rubbed his brother's arm.

"You have no idea, Raph. I was going to kill myself. I couldn't live without you guys."

"That was the point, Leo. Karai was trying to torture you and get you to kill yourself at the same time. If you had killed yourself in there, you would have died out here too."

"Yeah, I know. Don told me. I don't understand how I made it out though. Stockman sent the termination code."

"You can thank Sam for that. Remember what she told you?" Raph was silent, but continued when Leo nodded. "Don told me that you were partway out when he sent the code. Only the virtual you got knocked off."

"Wow, Raph. That was a little brainiac of you. You feelin' okay?" Leo teasingly reached up to touch his brother's forehead, but Raph playfully pushed it away. They sat and smiled at each other for a moment before they both looked away, embarrassed.

"I've missed this Raph." Leo said softly, and Raph looked up at him.

"Leo…" Raph started, but Leo shushed him with his hand.

"I want to see her." Leo said quietly, and Raph saw the pain and fear in his eyes, but also the hope.

"She doesn't want to see you." Raph said harshly. "She is scared you hate her."

"God, that woman." Leo swore. "I don't hate her! She should hate me! It's my fault, I'm the one who hurt her! Why does she have to be so selfless and stubborn. Raph?" Leo stopped his ranting when his brother started to chuckle. Raph turned the chair to face the door.

"You owe me ten bucks." He laughed. Leo turned his head to see who Raph was talking to.

There, in the doorway, stood Mikey and Don, and being held between them, was Sam. There was a large bandage covering her head, and a bulky cast on her foot, but Leo swallowed at the sight of her. The air around her seemed to glow, and he noticed the happy faces on all of his brothers. They were all laughing at him, but at that moment he didn't care. Sam reached into her pocket and pulled out a bill and handed it to Raph as he stood up and walked to her. She kissed him lightly on the cheek, and he helped her to the chair next to Leo. Leo just stared at her, and barely noticed his three brothers leaving the lab and shutting the door.

Leo stared at her. He drank her in. The dark brown hair that fell down her back, the light freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks, her muscled arms, her tattered clothes, her long neck, her rosy cheeks, her light pink lips, her long eye lashes, but most of all, her deep green eyes. The fear he had seen in them earlier was still present, but he grimaced when tears filled them and began to drip down her face. He was fighting back his own just at the sight of her.

"I could say the same about you, Leo." She whispered.

"What?" He asked quietly.

"I could ask why you have to be so stubborn and selfless." She said louder. The tears still fell steadily down her face. "Leo…"

"Shhhh." Leo cringed when she looked hurt and turned away. He fumbled around for the remote to the bed and pushed the button that bent the bed and helped him sit up. He reached out and touched her arm. "Sam." He said softly. She turned, and all he saw in her eyes was pain.

"Leo…It wasn't your fault….I never blamed you…Not once."

"Why didn't you Sam? It was my fault you got hurt. And now its my fault that you are in danger again."

"Leo don't you get it!" She screamed. She stood up and began shoving things off of Don's desk in anger. Once she was satisfied that the toaster was broken beyond repair and everything that had been on the desk was on the floor, she leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands, sobbing as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Leo's own anger began to build at the sight. "Sam." He croaked, but she either didn't hear him, or she ignored. "Sam!" he nearly yelled. "Are you gonna come here, or are you gonna make me come to you?"

She looked up at him before slowly walking back and falling into the chair. He grabbed the arm of the chair and pulled her as close to him as was possible. He leaned into her until their faces were nearly touching and glared at her for a moment before his anger melted. He tenderly touched her cheek and tucked a strand of hair beneath her ear before cupping her face in both of his hands.

"Samantha Loraine Janson, I owe you my life. You risked your own to save mine, despite the pain and hurt I have caused you. Will you please accept my sincere apology?" He said stiffly.

She sniffed and nodded, and started to scoot backwards, but Leo wrapped his arms behind her back and pulled her into his arms. He shivered in pleasure. Her warm vanilla scent filled his nose and blurred his senses as memories came flooding back, and he barely caught her words. The tears he had been fighting broke free, and he mumbled into her hair.

"I love you, too."