Author's Note: Hi i'm very sorry for the long wait. School stuff and other rea life things. Plus I didn't really have it in me at the time. But no worries i'm back and i'm started to write once more. Here's the next chapter but a little warning this may not be the chapter you all wanted to see. I thought I should give you a small insight into Gavin's past. Plus a warning, I tried hard to make the slurrs in this chapter real good, so I hope it's good. Enjoy.

Chapter 20: Drunken Truth

There was complete silence within the private dojo, if one were to hear carefully they could hear a pin drop. The steady breaths of the only occupant inside could be heard, the soft inhale and exhaling breaths of the olive green turtle could be heard as he sat on his knees in the middle of the wooden floor. Both eyes closed as he was in the middle of a small meditation to bring him some peace. After the events that had happen it was solely needed.

A lot of thoughts were processing through his mind, and the intensity of the problems he had caused his head to hurt. For a moment he needed an outlet for the problem to distract him from his thoughts, and one thing he knew that would help him is time in the dojo. Usually he would go to his work place, but he needed to be physical at the moment.

His head dipped and his eyes slowly opened as the ties of his new bandanna hit his shoulders. A heavy sigh came out as his meditation is ruined. The one gift that Shredder had given him, a brand new bandanna, which is exactly the same like the old one he had, except for a couple of things. First off it's completely back, and it had the Foot symbol on it, which represented his status as one of them, which is something he never thought would ever happen.

"Am I really one of them now?" He thought to himself, head bowing down in thought. "I mean…it was kind of Shredder to give me it and it would have been rude to not accept it…but it almost felt right and yet…why am I still wearing it if I didn't really want it?"

It was true, ever since he got his new bandana he wore it most of the time, never thinking once about taking it off. He wasn't sure why but he felt a lot better having it on. Maybe because it brought a sense of familiarity to him, since he lost his old one and now it brought him back to before all this happened. He wasn't sure, but still he kept it on.

For so long he fought against the Foot and didn't want anything to do with them at all, but now he's wearing their colors and doing things for Shredder. He knew that this made him one of them, but yet he wasn't troubled by it, almost like he was finally welcomed and now had his place. He wasn't scared or worried, but the one thing he felt was…normal.

When in this building he's allowed to walk around without any restriction. None of the other humans in the tower were scared of his appearance and just treated him like a normal person. This was something that was completely new to him and yet he liked it. Also a plus side was the fact that he was able to live out all of his ambitions and work with tech that he could only dream about, and be accepted for his intellect. Plus the fact that his hard work is acknowledge and praised for all the accomplishments he done.

"Junko," A voice broke him from his train of thought.

Don looked up to find four foot ninjas before him, nodding he then got up to his feet and bowed to them. The four did the same as they then surrounded the turtle, all of them now assuming a fighting stance. The now black clad turtle is going to help settle himself with a spar with four of the voluntary foot ninjas. Sparing is something he didn't normally do but for some reason this felt right.

The first one then started to charge him from behind, but Don's senses were much better and able to sense this. Ducking down he then did a leg sweep, knocking his incoming enemy off his feet, then rising up to deliver a hard blow to the stomach while he was still in the air.

Two arms then wrapped around him, pinning both arms to his side. Acting quickly Don then leaned his head forward before snapping it back, colliding with the Foot ninja's head, the action causing the grip to be broken. Turning around he was met with another charging at him, but easily blocked the incoming punches and kicks. Then catching one of the punches Don brought his arm up before using his elbow to hit the part of the arm where the joints met.

The Foot ninja cried out in pain as he was released, cradling his arm but didn't see the incoming blow that collided with his head, knocking him off his feet and to the ground. As the olive green turtle continued his sparing his mind started to think as well, multitasking.

Usually in the past he wouldn't have done this good in a fight, all that training that Shredder gave him and exercises he done had made him much faster and stronger. He moved fluidly and much quicker, plus the blows he made were much more effective than they were once before. His increased muscle mass provided more force so he could do more damage than before. Plus his balance is better than before, he could do things much easier when it came to balance. Like the leg sweep he just did, he did it without having to plant his hand on the ground, a big improvement from his skills from before.

His two remaining foes then tried to punch him together but he ducked down then responded by doing a double jump kick, knocking them both in the face. He landed gracefully as he watched the two fall to the ground, not getting back up. All his sparring partners were down and in pain. Moving over he then helped them all up to their feet, they nodded in appreciation for his help.

"Thank you, I really needed that," Donny responded as the four Foot ninjas stood before him.

"You are getting better," one of them said, which they received a nod.

Without any other words they all then took a bow at one another, before leaving. The black clad turtle the first one gone as he headed for the elevator.

The doors to the elevator opened as Don entered the small space, pressing the button for the higher level where his room is located. The doors closed as he then leaned against the wall, arms folded and head tilted down. His mind is clear of thoughts at the moment but then the ties of his new bandana caught his eye once more, the previous thoughts from before coming back.

He then reaches and caresses the black fabric, a frown on his face the more as he stared at it. "It…feels exactly the same as my old one. Yet it feels different to me…maybe because it came from Shredder himself…but still it feels…special to me…"

Shaking his head Don tossed the ties behind his head just as the doors opened, revealing the hallway of sliding doors. He then walked down the hall, eyes on his door ahead. It was late and he wanted to relax for a bit before going to bed, mainly to put this day behind him.

Placing his hand on his door he stopped just before opening it, his senses kicking in telling him that the room has been disturbed. Instincts kicking in the turtle slowly slid the door open, peering into the crack made but his eyes widen at what he saw, and also what he smelled.

The scent of alcohol hit his nose as Gavin sat in one of his chairs, slumped over the table, bottle of vodka in hand.

"Gavin?!" Don asked as he slid the door open and entered.

His human friend slowly pulled his head up and a drunken smile appeared on his face, "Heeeeeeyyy…Junko…how ish…it going?" he slurred his words.

Closing the door behind him the black clad turtle walked over to the table, now seeing it is riddled with newspapers, all of which were different new brands. "What are you doing here, and why are you drinking?"

"It's my anniversary…*hic*…I'm juss…was…tryin too…ferget my problems," Gavin responded as he pushed back in his chair and got up on shaky legs, his depth perception obviously impaired.

"Anniversary of what?" Don raised an eye, confused for a couple of reasons. The first is why he's drinking on an anniversary to the point of being drunk. And the second is why and what he's trying to forget.

"Of me gettin fired!" the human laughed as he stumbled trying to walk, thankfully Don caught him in time before hitting the ground. "Thanks pal."

Donny had to grimace as his friend's breath had been blown at his face, the strong scent of alcohol caught in the air. Grunting he then helped him back to his seat, making sure he didn't try to get up again. "Gavin you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk…just tipsy…" Gavin slumped in his chair, arm reaching out for the bottle and pulling it back to take a drink from it. "See…I can hold…me drink…"

"I don't think drinking more is going to help," his head shook as he continued to watch his friend get even drunker, and thought of stopping him. But he knew from research that people in drunken states tend to get violent if you take away their booze so he had to play things coolly. "And what do you mean by getting fired?"

"I quit me job…tok a long vehcation…then ended up gettin dis job ere," Gavin chuckled as he continued to speak, still holding onto the bottle as he let loose. "Didn vant too…but…had to. Had problems with de job…best an worst decision ever!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, what kind of job did you have before?" Don asked, curiosity now taking hold of him as he took a seat in the nearby chair.

Unfortunately the question wasn't answered as his human friend kept ranting on, " Come to think of it…I hated dat job…long hours…no overtime…crappy insurance…boss dat hated me."

"So Gavin back to-"

"I love dis job," Gavin responded as he got back up, and stumbled forward but surprisingly managed to keep his balance. "I'm finally appreciated for me work…and my uses…plus I'm not cheated out of what I deserve."

Don got up and followed Gavin, confused at the non-sense that was being said. "Where are you getting at? Can you be specific?"

For some reason Gavin walked over to Don's bed and sat down on it, slumping forward as his head was tilted forward. " I should hav…had dis job from de start…I…I wouldn't hav wasted all dhose years…and I…could still be with…with…."

That caused the turtle to freeze some, be with them? What was his friend talking about? It was then another thought came to mind, he also read that when people were intoxicated could tell the truth. And by the way he was speaking, the turtle is possibly hearing about his past, and for some reason he wanted to hear more. "Be with who…or what exactly?"

"Too young…could hav dun more…" Gavin spoke. "But noo one cared."

"You're still not making sense," the turtle tried to get more info out but it was a lost effort.

"I hate them…they didn't care…jus for dhem selves," He had finished another long swig as a yawn escaped from him. "Just vant..to..ferget."

"No wait, Gavin!" Don tried to catch his friend's attention but only could watch as the human laid down on the matrass, bottle leaving his hand and hitting the floor. Thankfully it was empty, so spilling wasn't a worry for him. And in no time snoring could be heard as he was out like a light. "Perfect…well…I don't know if he lives here or not…but…at least I can leave him where he is."

Sighing Don then picked up the dropped bottle and then went back to the table. Placing it on the surface the olive green turtle went about to pick up the mess that was made, but stopped as one of the papers caught his attention. "Is this…an obituary? Dated back to 11 years ago."

There was a paper with a bunch of deceased names on it, but one particular name is circled in red. There was a picture of a little girl, very young, which brought sadness because of the thought of a child dying at such a young age. Both eyes then scanned the text near the picture.

"Seven year old Sierra Erikson passed away in the early morning of her foster home, as she succumbed to the cancer she had be recently diagnosed with. Sierra, who had just been put into the foster care system after her father had been arrested for taking a hospital staff hostage. Before her foster parents could take her to the hospital to be treated, she passed one as her blood counts dropped to a deadly level. Little Sierra has no other relatives known."

Both of Don's eyes rose in confusion after reading the text, curious as to why Gavin would have this also why keep a paper that's just a little over a decade old. Now curiosity got the better of him as he started to look further at the papers that were before him, eyes widening as he moved the obituary, seeing a front page headline.

"Is that…Gavin?"

A picture of his friend was posted on the front page of the newspaper, it showed him being escorted to the back of a police car, and apparently he was under arrest for something. Sitting down in the once occupied chair Don then started to read the text underneath the picture, both of his eyes widening at what he found.

"Why is Gavin being arrested?" he asked himself as he looked down and read the rest of the contents.

"26 year old Gavin Erikson, a worker at New York general hospital, was arrested and charged with taking several of the main hospital staff hostage, including a few doctors and nurses. An eighteen hour standoff ended when the swat team non-lethally took Mr. Erikson down and was arrested. The hostages were freed, and none of them were hurt."

"That can't be…" he said in shock, not believing that his friend would be capable of something like this. Looking back at Gavin's knocked out form, he just couldn't believe that he would do something like this. He always seemed so nice and friendly. Looking back down at the paper he saw the date, which was also dated eleven years ago, about a week before the obituary he read.

Now the turtle wanted to find out more as he searched through the pile of papers, finding one that dated a month later.

"Gavin Erikson's trial began and went on to be reconvened a week later. Various testimony from the hospital staff indicated that Mr. Erikson didn't hurt them, and they proved sympathetic towards the man even though he endangered their lives. Things seem to look towards Mr. Erikson's favor but many of the family and other employees will be furious if Mr. Erikson gets let off."

Once again Don searched through the papers, trying to find the next part, and thankfully found it. Which really was dated a week later, but frowned at what he saw. In bold the words Guilty were printed.

"The trial of Gavin Erikson came to an end yesterday as the judge found him guilty for taking about nine people hostage. He was sentenced to ten years in prison without the possibility of parole. In his defense Mr. Erikson stated, "I did this for my daughter…who was diagnosed with Leukemia, but the hospital wouldn't treat her because I didn't have the right insurance. They would rather let a little girl die because they wouldn't get anything out of it? It's just wrong, and I'm going to prison just because I was trying to be a good father and get someone to help her. I am ashamed of the doctors of today." Those were Mr. Erikson's last words before being hauled to where he will be spending the next ten years of his life."

A tear ended up falling down as it all slowly started to come together. The obituary, the crime and the trial, it all made sense now. He may have not gotten the whole picture but it was enough, "Gavin had…a daughter?"

Turning in his seat his vision focused back on his sleeping friend, watching him in his drunken slumber as mixed emotions were coursing through him. But most of all question of his past now popped into his mind, what was the truth behind this arrest? He really wanted to know but chances were that Gavin wouldn't divulge that information willingly. The only way he could truly know is when he woke up, which by the empty bottle of vodka, which wouldn't be for a long while.

"Just what is your story Gavin?" Don asked as the room was once more engulfed in silence.

A/N: Hope you like, once more i'm back to writing this story again. And once more i'm going to finish this, it may take a while but I will. Also i'm happy to say that in ten days it'll be one full year that I started writing this story. Can't believe how much I've gotten done with and the response to the story. I thank you all for your support. Till next time.