A/N: Boys' ages: Leo-7, Raph/Don-6, Mikey-4; Sorry it took so long to update. Enjoy!

It had been several months since Splinter adopted the boys and they had begun to adjust relatively well. All four, including Mikey to his extreme happiness, began training at Splinter's dojo. The change was almost instantaneous. Leo threw himself into his training, infusing his natural leadership skills into guiding his brothers in their own training. He was still the most serious of the four and still had a tendency to lead his brothers when he could, but outside of the dojo he was much more relaxed than Splinter had seen him at the orphanage. Raph still had his anger management issues but Splinter was working with him to use that anger in his training. It was a slow process but the results were gradually starting to reveal themselves when the number of Raph's angry outbursts began to decrease. Don had probably surprised Splinter the most. Ms. Harris had mentioned that he was smart but that had definitely been an understatement. Don was brilliant. It had taken the first several weeks for Splinter to convince Don that he wasn't going to send him back if they did anything wrong. Once he was confident in his place with Splinter, Don had revealed himself to be a pretty adept inventor. He was quieter than his brothers, although just as talented in the dojo, but when it came to academics he shined. The once quiet dojo was now filled with the occasional sound of an explosion from Don's latest invention. Mikey was still his cheerful, bouncy self. His unlimited energy and short attention span kept his training sessions short but the little boy was eager to catch up to his older brothers so he progressed quickly.

Splinter also experienced a change. The hole that had been left behind by the deaths of his wife and daughter was starting to fill. The pain never completely went away, and he was sure that the same was true for the boys regarding their parents, but the pain was certainly starting to lessen.

Despite the success they had becoming a family, they still had their occasional setbacks. A couple of months after being adopted, Mikey tossed and turned in his bed. The boys had opted to sleep in bunk beds again so Leo and Mikey slept in one room while Don and Raph slept in the other.

Leo sat up in his bed and looked around. He waited for a minute before he heard a whimper from below him. As he looked down he saw Mikey tangled up in his bed sheets with a pained look on his face. Leo climbed down the ladder and attempted to shake his baby brother awake. "Mikey, wake up! You're having a nightmare. Mikey!"

It took a few seconds but Mikey's bleary blue eyes opened up to look at his brother's dark blue ones. Mike's eyes glistened with unshed tears and Leo's heart broke. He sat down on the bed and pulled Mikey into his lap. Mikey gripped his brother's blue pajama top and Leo could feel it becoming damp with Mikey's tears. "Did you have another nightmare buddy?" Mikey nodded into Leo's chest, still shaking slightly from his sobs. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Mikey shook his head. Leo sighed and just held his brother until he was ready to talk.

After about five minutes the bedroom door opened and Leo looked up. Don and Raph walked in and looked at Mikey. "He had another nightmare?" Don asked as he ran gentle fingers through his brother's soft blond hair. Leo nodded without saying anything and the two remaining brothers gathered around to offer support.

It was another five minutes before Splinter woke up in his room. Something was wrong but he wasn't sure what. He looked around the room quickly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness before he got out of bed to go check on the boys. He checked on Don and Raph's room first and panicked upon finding it empty until he heard whispers coming from Leo and Mikey's room. When he went to check he found all four boys sitting on Mikey's bed with their heads together and whispering. "Boys?" he said announcing his presence. "What are you doing up?"

The boys jumped lightly in surprise and turned to Splinter with guilty looks on their faces. "Sorry Sensei. We didn't mean to wake you," Leo apologized.

Splinter waved his hand to dismiss the apology. "What's wrong? Why are you awake?"

They hesitated before looking down at Mikey who was still settled in Leo's arms. "Mikey had a nightmare," Don told their adopted father truthfully.

Splinter nodded and went to sit on the bed with them. Leo reluctantly let go of Mikey as Splinter took him. "Mikey, have you been having a lot of nightmares?"

"Only occasionally," Leo answered for him. "He's been getting better."

"Thank you Leo but I was asking Mikey," Splinter said gently. "Mikey?" Mikey nodded. "What are they about?"

Mikey shuddered in his arms and Splinter felt terrible for making Mikey go through this but he had to talk about it or the nightmares would surely continue. Finally Mikey whispered, "The fire." Splinter waited patiently for Mikey to continue so Mikey took a deep breath. "I dreamed about our parents dying in the fire."

Splinter nodded his understanding. "Do you boys ever have nightmares too?" Leo and Don nodded slowly but Raph simply shook his head. Leo skeptically eyed him until Raph sighed heavily and nodded as well with a slight glare at his older brother. "If you boys ever have a nightmare, you can always come to see me. It's common for people to have dreams or even nightmares about their loved ones after losing them. There's nothing wrong with it." Splinter hesitated before continuing. "I still have nightmares sometimes about my wife and daughter." The boys perked up some. Splinter rarely talked about his late wife and daughter. "They were killed in a car accident seven years ago and even though it was seven years ago, I still dream about them."

"Why does it hurt so bad?" Mikey asked as he wiped his nose with his bright orange sleeve.

"Because you loved them so much," Splinter explained. "The pain will probably never go away and that's okay because it just shows how much they mean to you. The key is to remember the good times that you had with them. I know that your parents loved you guys a lot and would want you to be happy." The boys nodded and Mikey sniffed again. "Are you ready to go back to bed now?" Mikey nodded so they all got off of his bed so that Splinter could tuck him in.

Don and Raph stood around awkwardly until Splinter chuckled. "Would you two like to stay with your brothers tonight?" They nodded enthusiastically. "Go on."

Once Don was settled in the top bunk with Leo and Raph was wrapped around Mikey in the bottom bunk, Splinter said, "I'll call the school in the morning and tell them that you won't be in. I think we all need a day off. Now, go to sleep."

Mikey closed his eyes as Splinter turned off the light and left the room. He heard Raph grunt as Mikey wiggled and got comfortable in his older brother's arms but didn't stop until he was settled. He fell asleep quickly and slept through the night without any nightmares.