The rest of the discussion focused on these new bots that had come calling in the city, and Leo found that he couldn't really focus on it. Not after that... No matter how hard he tried, his usually calm mind just couldn't focus. He caught the main jist of the conversation, information that Bee, Sides and others had passed along after they got rid of them but it wasn't important enough for him to keep his thoughts grounded. His eyes kept wandering to that viewscreen, even though the picture wasn't on it anymore.

It hadn't gone unnoticed either. Prime had been watching him, and his brothers, as they tried to process this. And it was with an undertone of compassion and sympathy when he called an end to the meeting, because he could clearly see Leo was in no shape to concentrate on it anyway and wasn't really doing any good.

Now he was looking out the window of his room. His arms crossed as he watched the younger turtles out enjoying the quiet, sunny afternoon...out in the open and among humans. They quickly drew in the quite curious crowd, those who had never seen them before and a few oldtimers that had been fresh recruits themselves the first time around. Again Leo felt a stab inside of him as he was seeing how much time actually passed, how much the kids have grown and how much he was rapidly becoming an obsolete figure in this world.

From here he had a perfect view of the playground the bots had made, and for some reason held onto. And surprisingly, it was once again in use. Ty and Lavi was sitting in the tower, talking. Ari was hanging upside down by her knees nearby, joining in their conversation as her long hair reached for the ground. Thane and Dante were just walking up by this point. But it amused Leo a little that they chose this place to hang out. And something seemed to be missing from this picture too. It was with another pang that he realised what it was. There were no Bot bodyguards hovering nearby, they weren't needed this time around. It was with a small, sad, sigh that escaped his lips when reality hit him again.

The door opened behind him, then closed again, but he didn't need to turn to know who was there. Vicky walked quietly across the room until she stood next to him. "They always did like that thing." She commented softly as she watched them with a smile.

"I remember that." He replied with a smile of his own. "Could never get them away from it."

"I think I'm going to take a shower now that that's over with. I guess I better get washing this mop out of the way."

He just nodded. She gave him a quiet look for a moment before turning to the bathroom. Not much longer after that he felt her content as she stepped into the warm water. And her delight at the shower. He smiled a little...maybe he would ask Donnie to see if he could upgrade their bathroom at home. It was long overdue anyway and if it would make her happy...

Leo turned away from the window then and followed her to the bathroom. The window represented change he couldn't figure out how to deal with, he needed something right now that never would.

He stopped a few steps in when his eyes spotted her through the clear shower door. Her head was tilted back under the flow of water, rinsing the soap out of her hair. The suds ran down her body, hugging her curves before they got lost in the swirl of water going down the drain. On the same impulse he felt earlier, he quickly discarded his own gear and quietly stepped in before pulling her close to him.

Vicky looked a little shocked that he invaded her bathing domain twice in one day, but she didn't mind as she returned his hug. "What's the matter Leo? This much attention is unusual...even from you."

"I just want to be close to you is all."

She chuckled as she laid her head on his chest. "Well, you can't get much closer than this."

His arms tightened around her as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. She felt warm against him, her skin heated from the water. And soft, she was always so soft. After a few minutes she raised her head back up. "Feel like letting me go long enough so I can finish my hair?"

Regretfully he lowered his arms and she reached for the conditioner. He did help her work it in her long hair though. Leo loved her hair, actually enjoyed running his fingers through it. He knew most of the time it was a hassle and she had thought about cutting it back numerous times, but she never did anything more than the occasional trim. Just because he loved it so much. So it was only natural that he help her care for it if she kept it that long for him. Natural to him anyway.

His eyes wandered over her again as her head dipped back under the water. She still bore those scars, they were very faint now, pale with age. He remembered a time when they were still a very vivid red color. Even she was changing. It wasn't big changes, but with everything that had been running through his mind lately, they seemed to scream out at him.

It was the soft touch of her hand on his cheek that snapped him out of his wandering thoughts. Her eyes seemed so much bigger and intense now that all of her hair was swept back from her face from the water. Her eyes met his. "Are you sure you're ok? You've been quiet and brooding the last few days already and now this..."

He knew it was pointless to lie to her, and he wouldn't do it anyway. He had tried to hide certain feelings from her once and it had caused even more problems. He vowed never to do it again. That, and he knew she was one of the very few who truly understood him besides his brothers. Maybe even better than they did. "I just feel like I can't keep up." He admitted quietly. "Everything seems to be moving quicker than I can adjust to it. Cons that get back up after you take them out, Father wandering around out there and saying nothing to us and...my own son proved to me that he doesn't need me any more... Where is my place in all of this Vicky? Where do I fit in? Is it my time to just sit back in the lair and watch from afar, like Father did?"

"Leo, you know just as well as I do that you could never do that. He was well suited for that role, you aren't. You have to be out there, just because it would eat you up if you didn't do it."

"But I do it so I can watch over my family. I'm doubting I can do that much longer."

"That may be true Leo. It's a harsh reality. But even if you aren't physically capable of helping them, you still have the wisdom of experience. There is always a way to help, you just have to adjust to find it."

"It's...not the same..." He whispered as he placed his hand over hers. "I can't fight off the urge to protect them, and they don't need it anymore. I promised them I'll always be there if they need me only to find that I'm rapidly not being needed. After doing this for so long I don't know how to step back, I can't step back..."

"And it's bothering you that neither option seems to be the right one."

"Something like that." He sighed. "I find myself missing the old days dear one. When the answers were so much easier to find. Now I don't know what is expected of me."

Her eyes softened a little as she looked at him. "Growing is hard...isn't it?"

"At this stage, yes, it is. There just doesn't seem to be a clear answer for me."

"I wish I knew what to tell you Leo, I really do." She brought her hand down and wrapped her arms around him again before she placed her head on his chest. "I don't like seeing you like this."

He didn't answer her, just held her against him as his cheek once again found itself on top of her head. He wished he knew what to tell himself. But for now Leo took comfort in the one thing he knew would never change, the love they had for each other. As it usually did, just being near her made him feel better. Not a lot, but some. Only time would give him the other answers he was looking for.

.

.

Ty was leaning against the wall of the play tower, his arms crossed as he thoughtfully looked out over the base.

"I remember our parents swinging us on this thing." Lavi said with a small smile. "It's funny how some stuff is blurry, but others you remember very clearly."

Ari was still hanging by her knees. Ty was wondering how much longer she'd be able to keep that up before she passed out from all the blood going to her head. "Well, this is the blurry ones for me. I wish I could remember more, this thing is actually kinda fun."

"You are so easily amused." Thane rolled his eyes at his cousin.

Dante was looking at the group of soldiers standing by the corner, that was looking back at them. "I wish they'd quit staring at us. It's making me nervous."

Ari finally flipped off of the bar, hitting the ground lightly. "Well, go ask them to stop silly."

"I'd rather not..." Dante mumbled, a bit embarrassed.

Ari stood up straight as she brushed off her hands, then to Dante's horror turned to the group of soldiers. "My cousin would like it if you quit staring at us!" She yelled across the distance. Dante groaned and slapped his palm against his forehead.

Ty looked at his younger cousin with amusement at his embarrassment. "You know she does crap like that..."

Lavi snickered next to him, which just added to the misery for the yellow masked turtle. Ty was betting that Dante was ready to crawl into a hole when the group actually walked over after an uncomfortable pause.

"Sorry...," One of them said when they got closer. He was tall with black hair, lightly muscled and had a wide grin under friendly brown eyes. He seemed to be around Ty's age, maybe a bit older. "We weren't trying to be rude."

Another, a tall, redhead female, smiled. "It's just that we were trying to get over the awe factor. We've heard the stories..." She had the typical green eyes that go with her color, and Ty wasn't quite sure what to make of them. He'd never seen a color quite like that before. Not even his Aunt Cait had eyes quite like hers.

"I think you may be confusing us with our parents." Ty told her. "We weren't really old enough to do much at the time."

She grinned back at him. "Those weren't the stories we are talking about, though those are cool too."

The teens just exchange quick, confused looks as the soldiers chuckled. "We heard that you guys managed to work you way into the sparks of some grumpy ass Bots." The first one spoke again. "Mainly Hide, Sunstreaker...and Ratchet of all bots. We just can't understand it." He reached out a hand. "Name's Kyle."

"Titian." Ty took it and gave it a firm shake. "But I usually go by Ty."

Kyle winced a little. "Nice firm shake...supposed to mean you got confidence. I'm taking it to mean you can break fingers."

Ty gave him a smile. He decided he liked this guy.

"Cindy." Came the woman's hand next. Ty made sure he schooled back his grip a bit this time. She still looked at her hand and wiggled her fingers a bit though. "They all still seem to work. Titian? That's an unusual name. Don't think I've heard that before."

Ty just shrugged. "It's a very old name. My father had a thing about naming my sister and I after Renaissance artists. But since he and my uncles got all the good names, he had to dig in the not as well known pile."

"I think it suits you. I like it."

"Lavinia." Lavi reached out her hand next. "Or Lavi. Depends on if I'm in trouble or not on which one get used."

"Oh...now I'm jealous..." Cindy smiled. "That name is sooo pretty."

The rest of the group made their introductions, but Ty found himself looking at this young woman with fire for hair the most. For some reason he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He did know that they all seemed to get along, easily passing jokes back and forth. Even Dante began to loosen up a bit after awhile.

Thane's rumbling stomach decided to break up the chat session though. "I'm getting hungry."

"You're always hungry." Ari told him. "I don't think you've ever been full."

"He's a big turtle." Kyle grinned. "I bet it takes a lot of food to keep him going."

"You think he's big," Ari grinned "you should see his dad close up."

"He the red masked one?"

Ari nodded.

"I think I'll hold off on that one. Was told he's got a short fuse."

Lavi laughed. "It's so short I don't think it's even long enough to qualify as one."

"You guys could join us in the mess hall." Kyle offered. "Food sucks, but at least you'll have good company."

"I think we would like that." Lavi smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. Ty was staring at Cindy again and didn't even notice.

Kyle held out his arm to her and Lavi took it with a laugh. Ty followed his example to Cindy, and his heart skipped a beat when she placed her hand on his arm. Yes sirree...this was turning out to be a pretty decent trip so far.