Chapter seven:

Everything is almost ready for the farmhouse, as tomorrow is the day that they plan to head out.

Donnie got Leo into his lab to try something. "Okay. I'm going to be let you hear the sound of the wind chimes. I also set up a connection so Raph can make it move to make noise even with no wind. It can be done with the hit of a button. I even made one that you can wear if you want to go for a walk. So you can find it around your neck then push the button to make it make a sound."

"You didn't have to put that much work into it." Leo is a little surprised to hear how far Donnie went in order to help. He should have expected this as it is Donnie who goes above and beyond for them. He just has a slightly worried thought. "You didn't go this far because you feel guilty about what happened? Did you?"

"Of course not." Donnie snorts. "I just want to help take care of my brothers even if I'm not there. I've made a lot more to set up at the farmhouse. All to assist with your circumstances and living there permanently. Though that's for another time." He sounds to be shifting around a bunch. "Okay. So I am going to stand in a spot and let it sound. Try to come to the sound. We'll start simple and do further distances for good practice."

"Okay." Leo agrees and waits as Donnie moves to a spot. He then hears the sound that must be the wind chimes.

The sound is like beautiful bells ringing softly then louder than going back down.

Leo is able to easily pinpoint the sounds direction and he heads that way. He pauses at feeling an obstacle. He doesn't remember hearing Donnie putting anything in the way. He carefully feels his way around the object, which feels like a box with a few things having fallen out of it. He gets around it then he heads towards the sound of those chimes. He stops as he feels his brothers foot. He knows the feel of it from helping heal him before.

"Good job!" Donnie mentions proudly. "Now let us try further away. Wait here." He moves away and Leo waits until he can't hear the other anymore.

Leo waits for the sound to come. He feels a little concerned about how far Donnie might be as there isn't anything immediate. He slightly perks up as he hears the chimes.

It does sound a bit far away, with the sound going off of the lab walls a bit.

Leo carefully makes his way in the direction that he believes he hears it come from. He slows down t trying to think of if it did come from the direction he's in or if it turned. He almost swears that his mind wants to say that it turned. He pauses to listen as it sounds again and he slightly turns. He should have trusted himself as it did turn just not too much. He goes in that direction focusing on this hard. He keeps going hoping that he is going in the right direction. He pauses once more when he feels something metal. He gently lets his foot guide him around the object which is metal, and circular by its feel. His attention is brought away from it to turn as he hears the chimes again. He swears that he is almost there. He heads in the direction then stops feeling his brothers foot again.

"That was great! These are going to work great!" Donnie does sound quite happy about this making Leo smile as well.

"We can head to the farmhouse tomorrow." Leo tells Donnie who makes a sound of agreement.

"We can take the truck."

"Truck?" Leo blinks at hearing this. He doesn't remember there being a truck.

"Yeah! I just fixed it up! I just took an abandoned truck off of the side of the road. Been fixing it up and it's now in complete working order. Don't worry the people already took off the licence plate so they won't be looking for it." Donnie informs Leo who hums a little impressed. "We will also bring the turtle tank. So I can leave the truck with the two of you then me and Mikey can still get back here."

"Are you sure that you two will be okay without me and Raph here? Well I mean without Raph here." Leo slightly looks away as he can't forget that he can't see anymore. He turns back as a hand comes onto his shoulder comfortingly.

"Of course we'll be alright. Don't worry about us. We still have Casey and April as well if it makes you feel any better." Donnie reminds Leo who nods softly to this.

Leo is just glad that they'll be okay while the two of them are living at the farmhouse.

"Do you have everything you want to bring all set?" Donnie questions curiously to which Leo nods his head that he does. "That's good. Though I think that you're missing one piece." He heads away from a confused Leo who waits. He returns and gently takes Leo's hand before putting something in it.

Leo gently explores the object in his hand. He finds that it kind of feels like a mini Mikey figurine. He can even feel the nunchucks.

"I made models of everyone. The texture was a little tricky but Mikey helped me out. They all feel like each of us. Just a little something in case you miss us. You can feel it and know that no matter the distance we are always with you." Donnie explains to Leo who smiles at the idea.

"That sounds really wonderful." Leo admits already liking this idea. He gives the figurine back and hears Donnie close a container after a moment.

"So. You think you're going to tell Raph how you feel?" Donnies question catches Leo off guard. "I picked up on your feelings for him. Mikey too. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone, but for some reason Raph who seems oblivious, knows. Me and Mikey agree that we support you two if you did get together. So maybe think about telling him."

"And if he doesn't like me that way?" Leo starts to have second thoughts since things could become too awkward if that happens. "He's going to be helping in taking care of me alone at the farmhouse. If he doesn't share those feelings then..." He stops himself as Donnie puts an arm around him.

"Raph can be emotional. But he does care. We both know that. Even if he says no to wanting to be with you then he would still look after you. He might be emotional for a bit though not abandon his duty to help you. A duty he volunteered to do himself need I remind you. The farmhouse was your guys idea after all." Donnie does have a point. "However I think that you should take the risk. Be a little bold with it. Don't overthink it. Just do it."

"I'll try." Leo tells Donnie who makes a soft sound of understanding. He just hopes that whenever he gets the courage to do so then things will go well.

"Remember to not overthink it." Donnie reminds him as if having caught Leo starting to think too much.

Leo would slightly roll his eyes if he still could. He does smile though and swears that he is sure Donnie must be smiling too.

The next day...

Leo and Raph are sitting in the truck together.

Donnie, Splinter and Mikey are in the turtle tank following the truck out to the farmhouse.

Leo is holding Spike by his chest. He isn't sure what to do as he can't watch the countryside go by them. He's been kind of bored, and so he's just been trying to think of all that Donnie might have made for the farmhouse.

"We're almost there." Raph informs Leo finally and Leo turns to where he thinks the window is.

Leo wishes he could see them pulling up to the farmhouse. He swears that it does look pretty nice after all. He really does enjoying coming to this place, he finds it is such a beautiful area.

The truck pulls up to a spot then slows to a stop.

Leo hears Raph turn off the truck and he moves one hand off of Spike. He feels for his seatbelt buckle. He does notice Raph seems to wait as if to see if he can find it on his own. He does feel glad that Raph is letting him do this. He does find it and unbuckles himself. He turns to find the door handle and gets out of the truck. He keeps Spike safe in his grasp also making sure the other doesn't get hurt. He can hear the others moving around with Raph telling Mikey and Donnie to start unloading things. He hears someone approach him and guesses it must be Splinter; since the other three are getting things unloaded from the truck and turtle tank.

"Come. Let us head inside. You can walk around and get a feel of the layout without your sight." Splinter suggests and Leo nods in agreement to it.

So the two of them head inside with Splinter helping guide Leo this time at least.

Once everything is set up to help Leo navigate the place then he can probably do it.

For now Leo will let himself be lead into the house on the farm.

Once inside Splinter lets Leo give him Spike. He doesn't follow as Leo begins to walk around the place.

Leo tries to remember what each direction of the farmhouse was like. He knows the layout pretty well, however it feels like he's newer here due to his lack of sight. He tells himself in his head that surely once he gets used to it all he'll be fine. He just needs to put in the work to get there. He keeps going and feels the familiar feeling of the kitchen floor beneath his feet. He moves around the kitchen only slightly running into a chair; he missed the chair leg with his foot so he didn't realize it was there. He does manage to catch it, using the feeling of it moving to help, before it fell to alert everyone what happened. He doesn't want a big scene to happen over it. He lets go of the chair before moving a good distance away. He heads in the direction he believes should take him out of the kitchen. He bumps into a counter making him jump backwards a little. He quietly sighs to himself figuring he got too confident there. Too confident that he was headed in the right direction.

At least it doesn't sound like anyone noticed.

There's sounds of things being moved into the farmhouse, plus Splinters voice is heard responding to something Mikey says.

Leo composes himself and tries to exit the kitchen again. This time he follows the direction of the sounds of his family. He stops himself before he hits the end of the wall of the entryway, then heads towards the others. He feels eyes on him as he makes it to where he can hear them.

"Hey Leo!" Mikey's cheery voice is the first to speak. "How's the exploration going?"

"Pretty nice." Leo tells them. He decides to pretend it's going great as he doesn't want to worry them. "I think I'm getting pretty good at navigation."

"That's great!" Mikey sounds glad to hear this.

Though Leo swears he can feel one sceptical gaze on him.

"I'll start setting up the stuff. What I have made should also help in making sure that you can get around easier." Donnie tells Leo then is heard heading off somewhere.

"Come on Mikey. Let's get the rest of the stuff." Raph tells the youngest and the two can be heard heading off with that.

Leo slightly turns as Splinter, the only one left in the room, approaches him.

"You don't have to hide from them. If you need help don't feel afraid to ask. I understand that you may want to do things by yourself. However you should remember that you all are not just a team. You are a family. Even if you have feelings amongst yourselves. They'll be alright to help you in a time of need. My ears aren't just for show." Splinter adds and Leo realizes that the other hears him in the kitchen. "If it does help let me remind you that you have helped them a lot. Now you can let them help you. You can let your leadership role relax now. We are all very proud of the work that you did. Now it is time for you to let yourself enjoy your life. Without having to worry about anything you used to have to. I know that you know the limits of it all. Lines to not cross. Just keep my words in mind." He moves away after this.

Leo smiles softly to himself as he wonders if he got the whole speech thing, that Raph likes to tease him on, from Splinter. He supposes in a way he does take after the rat more than he thought. He turns away from the direction Splinter went. He lets himself think about the others words. He's not sure that it'll be so easy to just let go and let himself be taken care of. He supposes that at least he can try though. He may kind of owe it to them to let them indeed have a chance to help him now. He pushes away the thoughts for now and moves to keep looking around. He steps on something that jolts out from under him. He squeaks as he falls forward.

Suddenly a pair of arms manage to grab him.

Leo tries to figure out who has him. He brings his hands to one arm and feels Mikey's skin.

"You okay Leo?" Mikey inquires and Leo nods.

"Yeah. Thanks." Leo lets the youngest help him to his feet.

"There's no much left. I'll grab the last few boxes. Mikey you go ahead and walk with Leo around a bit." Raph tells Mikey who chirps out an okay.

Leo doesn't argue and Raph can be heard heading out again. He starts walking again being more careful than before. He can hear Mikey following him as he moves a little slowly around the farmhouse. He finds himself second guessing that he can get used to needing more help now.