Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT or any characters associated with them.
The wooden door creaked open. Donatello stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind him, stopping the cold air from invading the farmhouse. He started for the kitchen but paused as he heard muffled voices from the living room. He frowned and walked towards the living room.
Raph sat next to Mikey on a couch and was shaking his head. April and Casey were sitting across from them with shocked expressions. Don sighed as he watched from the doorway. Raph must have told them about the horrors of the past few months.
He turned and saw Leo standing outside through a window. Don stared. Leo stood alone in the cold, head bowed and hands tightened into fists. Don tensed and rubbed his wrist, the one Leo had nearly broken. Don had never seen his brother do that to anyone before, not even an enemy. Yet, Leo had done it without hesitation. Don hadn't realized just how dangerous Leo could be to anyone but an enemy. Leo could kick any of their shells, but Don had never thought of Leo seriously injuring any of them. At least not the real Leo.
Don shook his head. He didn't want to think of that.
He glanced back at the living room, catching sight of Casey taking April's hand and pulling her close to him. She held onto him as Raph continued telling the tale.
Don's hands tightened into fists and he turned to the kitchen. He placed his hands on the counter-top and bowed his head. Seeing April with Casey made his chest ache. He didn't want to be around them like this. Don screwed his eyes shut. He wanted to drive the images of them holding each other out of his mind. His gaze fluttered open and he stared at the counter. He didn't want to be here. Not with the two of them falling over each other, head over heels in love. He didn't want to stumble in on them doing more than holding hands. He didn't know what he would do.
The door creaked open, a blast of cold air hit Don causing him to shiver. He didn't move, he knew it was Leo. His older brother glanced at him, his one eye staring coldly. He stood there, staring at Don for a few minutes. Donatello remained still and felt his skin shiver. He finally turned to look at Leo, straightening.
Leo glanced at the living room and back to Don. He seemed to have picked up from Don's posture that the purple masked terrapin was upset.
"Is it them?" He asked, referring to April and Casey.
Don made no move to speak. How could Leo ask that? Leo knew what had him upset! He had dragged him here knowing about Don's feeling for April! Don's gaze narrowed and he gave his older brother a glare.
"What do you think, Leo?" He snapped a little angrier than he should have, considering their previous argument, but Don didn't care. Leo had known how being around April and Casey would affect Don. He should be the angry one. Leo had no reason to be pissed off.
Leo's mouth twitched at the sarcastic comment. He looked ready to spit something back at Don-a threat or an insult, but Don never found out.
"Don, that you?" Raph asked from the living room.
Leo glared at Don who refused to acknowledge the glare as he stared in the direction of the living room.
"Yeah it's me."
Don ignored his brother's glare as he strode past him, exiting the kitchen and walking into the living room where everyone was watching him expectantly. Don ignored April's hold on Casey and approached Raph. "What'd you need?"
"Ya' see, we were telling April about what went down in the past few months, and she wanted to know what went down recently. Ya know, like Mikey's heart transplant and Leo's new heart. Seeing as you're the one who was with Mikey and Leo the most since Leo took care of the Shredder and you handled his injuries, we'd like to know what you have to say about his... recovery."
Don stared at Raphael for a moment. "Mikey and Leo's recovery?"
Raph nodded. Don muttered something under his breath before he opened his mouth to speak.
"Well, as you know, Leo's heart was the perfect match for Mikey. Because Leo's been a bit careless with his injuries beforehand, and his heart has been in trouble before, I had to watch Mikey closely. But, Mikey healed pretty quickly and it's almost like he was born with the heart he has now. It's a perfect match and the surgery went excellent."
"And what about Leo?" Casey asked. Don twitched and bit his lip while trying not to answer in a bitter tone.
"Leo's fine. He healed up and recovered from surgery good."
Raph gave Don a dubious look, Mikey stared as well. "How about after he came back from the Foot tower, Donnie? And could ya be a little more specific?" Raph asked in a tone that implied a tinge of irritation.
Donatello sighed. He didn't want to talk about Leo. His brother seemed to be getting a lot of attention lately. Especially from April.
"Leo came in hours after Raph did. He didn't come to me at first. He actually went into his "room" and was there for a while doing whatever it was that he was doing. When he came to me, he refused to let me treat anything but his ankle. It was fractured and he had a few bruised ribs and gashes, but nothing too major. He's healed up nicely since then, and he did tell me what happened to his eye a few days ago."
"Is it repairable?" April cut in.
Don glanced at her, pausing for a moment. "No. It's gone. He told me that the Shredder gouged it out. Believe me when I say it can't be salvaged. There's nothing left but scar tissue."
Everyone looked stunned at Don's callousness and the apparently permanent injury that accented the scar that covered half of Leo's face.
"He's alright, though, right? Mentally speaking?" April asked quietly.
Raph and Mikey stared at her in disbelief. "He ain't brain-damaged, April!"
She quickly shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean, everything you guys have told me... it sounds so traumatic. Isn't it possible that he might have some post traumatic stress and having problems dealing with it? That might explain why he and this Tenjin guy had a major fight."
"No." Mikey whispered. "No, him and Tenjin were trying to kill each other. It was something totally different."
"I'd have to agree with Mikey to an extent. Leo doesn't have the symptoms of someone with post traumatic stress. I can run some tests, but I'm positive that they'll be negative. Honestly it's his-" Don began.
The sound of crashing pots and pans came from the kitchen. All eyes whirled in that direction. "Is Leo gonna try cooking again? It sure sounds like his usual clumsy kitchen skills." Casey chuckled. Don's gaze snapped at Casey. "What an idiot." He muttered under his breath.
"Hey, Leo, you alright?" Raph called. No answer. He frowned and stood up.
An anguished scream came from the kitchen. Everyone was on their feet and rushing to the kitchen.
Leo stood alone in the kitchen, glaring after Don's retreating figure.
He's goading you.
"I don't care." Leo muttered under his breath. "He thinks he has it so hard now. He's not stuck with YOU inside of his head."
You have suffered, yes. But I am dead.
Leo snorted in derision. "Like it matters. You're dead, but your presence never leaves my mind. Your memories remain embedded. Whenever I think of my father, all that comes to mind is me killing him." He whispered.
Weak and pathetic. The rat is dead. Nothing will ever change that.
Leo's hands tightened into fists.
"I hate you. I hate everything you've done to me." He spoke lowly in a voice that dripped with intensity. He was shaking with anger. His one eye blazed with hell-bent fury.
Fool, you would throw a tantrum over the rat?
"Don't you ever talk about him. You don't deserve to talk about him." Leo snarled.
I do not follow the commands of a pathetic ninja and I hold no respect for his pathetic master!
A splitting headache developed between Leonardo's eyes and he dropped to his knees, clutching his skull with both hands. He gritted his teeth in pain.
You will learn your place!
Leo shook his head and rose to one knee. "You are not in control of me. You will never be in control of me." He growled as he swayed to his feet. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the kitchen countertop to steady himself. He breathed in short gasps before swallowing and steadying his breath.
You will not question me again. You will not attempt to order me again. There are far worse things I can do to you than give you a headache.
Leo growled. "You do not control me."
That is what you may think.
"No, you will not and cannot control me." He hissed as regained control of his breathing and the pain began to fade away.
Your insolence will cost you!
Pain split through his frontal lobe. He gasped and stumbled back-into another part of the counter, pressing a hand to his forehead. He shook his head and used the counter to support his weight.
Do you persist?
"With all of me, I do." He growled back.
The pain increased tenfold. He bit his tongue to prevent a scream from escaping his lips and fell against the counter, knocking over pots and pans in a cacophony of discordant sounds. He straightened, leaning heavily on the countertop. Sweat beaded his forehead and ran down his face.
The sound of loud and worried voices from the living room rose up, but it was nothing to Leo. He couldn't hear anything over his own pain.
You will regret your own life when I finish you!
Pain that Leo didn't even know was imaginable split through his skull, radiating through. Leo threw his head back and released a cry of rage and anguish, spitting blood in his cry. He turned to the door and sprinted for it. His skull felt ablaze. Blood ran freely from his nose and mouth. He shoved through the door, splintering it apart. Wood went flying as he raced across the snow, into the woods.
Don stared at the broken door. He had to admit that Leo had become a lot stronger to shatter an entire solid wooden door by just running at it. He hadn't found much blood on the door, so he had to assume that Leo hadn't hurt himself when he ran into the door. But small spatters of blood trailed into the woods, and Don knew it was Leo's blood. He sighed and rose to his feet. As much as he could pretend to look the door over for clues, he wasn't fooling April. She was standing behind the countertop holding a cup of hot coffee and there was another beside her waiting for him. She knew he loved coffee and she would think there was something really wrong if he avoided it for too long. He had been looking the broken door over for nearly two hours.
His brothers and Casey had gone out to search for Leo, leaving him and April alone in the house. He somewhat regretted Leo's sudden departure. At least his blue masked brother knew better than to leave him and April alone.
Don turned and approached the counter, where he grabbed a hold of the coffee and downed half the cup. He sighed and glanced back at the door, making a show of seeming stumped about it. He really didn't want to talk to April at all.
He noticed her staring at him. He sighed again, she wasn't falling for it.
"Do you really think there's nothing wrong with Leo?" She asked.
He furrowed his brows. Maybe she was falling for his act.
"I didn't say that. I know he's gotten a lot more aggressive as of late, but that's not to say that he has PTSD. He'd be a lot more sensitive around us talking about the events of the past few months if that were the case and he would freak out a lot more, believe me. Mikey had some traces of it after the Shredder stabbed him. I know for a fact that this," Don said, waving his arm at the door, "is not from PTSD."
"Then what is it? He's never acted like this before! Something is wrong with him, Don-" She began.
"I know, April! You don't have to tell me every five minutes!" He interrupted with frustration clear on his features, slamming his cup on the counter. He sighed and rubbed the bridge between his eyes. April stared at him.
"Don, I'm sorry. I understand that you're worried about him" she said, reaching across the counter to place her hand on Don's. He flinched at the contact and yanked his hand free. "No, you don't understand, April." He managed as he stepped away from the counter and headed for the basement.
She moved in his way. "Don, what's wrong? Is this about Leo?" She asked with sympathetic green eyes.
He quickly shoved past her. "It's nothing, April. I have work to do."
She stared after him with a forlorn expression.
A/N: Alright, this is a transition chapter. The pace will definitely pick up after this. Please review, it'll help speed along the writing process.