Rating: T

Warnings: Overall story - Brief mentions of torture. Bit of language.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: For months now, Mikey's been through hell with no one to count on but himself. He's finally been rescued but there are still two major problems; he's still desperately missing his family and he has no way home. No OCs. 2k3/2k12 crossover.

CharmGirlLove: Yeah, Mike's not one to waste a good opportunity like that XD

ScribeofHeroes: Yeah, Mikey *needed* to get out for a bit whether the others liked it or not. Heh, I wish I could hurry up and get there too. Ah well, there will finally be a few little time skips coming up soon so that should help get closer XD

I enjoyed being able to write that camaraderie. It's just a shame it couldn't last but then again, every little bit helps them grow closer.

Yeah, he was trying to be careful and do the right thing by the others.

I really need to get around to watching the final season, heh.

Kayla Micael: Yeah, no, I've said it before, I can never kill off my favourite character, haha. Doesn't mean I can't put them through the wringer though XD Some of the 2k12 guys may surprise you in this story, though you may be right about others. Thank you. I'm a big fan of stories/series/even cartoon characters learning and growing from their experiences and 2k12, much as I did enjoy it, annoyed me that they never seemed to learn and consequences never seemed to happen except for Leo in that 3 month coma...

Guest: Yeah... I can believe it...

Ravenashess: I think the problem stems from, not only has Mike been hurt and suffered a lot during his imprisonment but also that the 2k12 family already lost one Mikey. They really don't want to risk another. Especially when he's obviously not at full strength after only a couple of weeks of freedom... I can't speak to 'harsh conversations' as such (since Mikey's not really the type, though he will call out bullshit when he sees it and has had enough) but I hope this chapter at least helps a little with that and of course, there will be more to come in a few more chapters time.

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 25

Date: 5th Oct

Movement flashed. Mikey whipped his head back around to see a blur of green and purple flying his way. His eyes widened and without thinking, threw himself forward to catch his other-dimensional brother.

"Oof!"

Mikey gasped breathlessly as something suddenly slammed into him, hard, from behind. He lost sight of Donatello as he, too, went flying, before coming to a hard stop against a low brick wall. The still aware part of him desperately hoped the distinct crack he heard was just his imagination. Shaking off his fugue, he tried to scramble to his feet but all too quickly was grabbed by a huge hand and stunned with white-hot pain as a metallic foot slammed into his plastron. As his body helplessly dangled in mid-air, he wheezed desperately for breath.

"Just fucking end it!" Rahzar snarled distantly through the dull throbbing in Mikey's hearing.

"With pleasure," Fishface purred and Michelangelo screamed as fresh pain ripped through him anew, this time through his shoulder.

And then, he fell.

"Mike!" three horrified voices cried in panic.

Raphael slowly turned back to Xever, his face twisted in utter hatred. "You fucking!" he snarled, rushing furiously at the monstrous fish mutant. Xever merely chuckled and egged him on. "I'm gonna fucking kill you for that!"

Donnie pelted for the parapet. To his intense relief, he found Mike dangling over the edge and barely clutching to his kusarigama which was hooked on a railing a short distance down. Knowing the battle behind raged anew, Raph on Fishface and Leo on Rahzar, Donnie, too, threw himself over the edge, catching Mike in one hand before he could lose his grip and the kusarigama with the other. Then he hurriedly swung them both over to a landing on a nearby fire escape where he gently eased Mike down.

For a moment, Donnie's hands ghosted feverishly over the other-dimensional turtle even as he continued to gasp raggedly for breath. An enraged yell from above had Donnie glance worriedly up before turning his attention back to Mike and to his relief, it seemed the injured turtle was beginning to regain control of his breathing. That's when he noticed the bite marks on his right shoulder.

"Kuso."

Mike squinted up at him as he tried to focus. "What... did you... say?" he rasped, his vision swimming alarmingly. It was only the band of purple that gave away Donnie's identity.

Donnie winced guiltily. "I asked if you're okay," he lied, not willing to repeat his faux par in front of the injured turtle.

Mikey tried to chuckle but it came out as a pained wheeze. "You're such a... terrible... liar!" he gasped.

Donnie smiled tightly. "I need to get back up there but first, Mike, this is extremely important. I need you to stay here and do not move! Fishface bit you..."

Mikey pulled a face, somewhere between disgusted and duh but didn't interrupt.

"... and it's likely that you're about to start hallucinating if you haven't already, so I need to know that you will not get up or try to move. I need you to stay exactly in this spot right here," Donnie instructed sternly as he pulled out his T-phone and typed instructions for his father to get the antivenom ready for when they reached home. "Do not move, do not try to walk off. Do you understand?"

"Ye... yeah," Mikey whispered hoarsely, closing his eyes to shut out the dancing colours that were speeding around and around and making him nauseous.

Donnie looked sharply at Mike as he pressed send. "I need you to say it, Mike. What do you need to do?"

"I need... to stay here and don't move or walk off," Mikey answered after a moment, straining his memory for Donnie's instructions.

Donnie gave a relieved nod as he pulled up the app to summon the Shellrazor by remote control. "Good. Remember that and focus on it. I'll be back with you asap."

"'k," Mike breathed and Donnie winced again at the sound. He hated leaving the injured turtle like this but he needed to help his brothers because Fishface and particularly Rahzar were no joke and Raph was pissed and probably not thinking straight as usual.

He reached out for the kusarigama chain which still thankfully dangled securely in place and used it to scramble quickly up and over the parapet. To his relief, while they were still fighting, Raph and Leo were driving back their adversaries. He ran lightly across the rooftop to snag up his fallen bo, flicking it up with his foot into his hands. Then his gaze narrowed as protective nictitating membranes snapped into place as he, likewise, ran back into battle.

Seeing the tide turn with a third angry ninja turtle rejoining the fight, Bradford and Xever beat a hasty retreat, Xever barely managing to run thanks to Donnie getting in a 'lucky' shot with his naginata blade to one of the servos in Xever's right robotic leg. Rahzar, of course, took off ahead, not caring in the slightest about the fate of his partner.

The murderous expression on Raph's face worried Donnie, thinking that he would give chase but to his relief, Raph and Leo both turned to him anxiously.

"Mike? Is he.."

"He's alive," Donnie confirmed shortly, already turning and running for the landing where he'd left the other turtle. "He's hurt though and the hallucinations will definitely have kicked in by now. We need to get him home before he hurts himself more."

"Where is he?" Leo asked in a clipped tone as he peered over the parapet into the gloom below.

"Fire escape," Donnie replied, pointing it out. To his relief, he saw the other-dimensional turtle still in place, eyes squeezed tight as if trying to shut out the world around him and shaking. He heard low but terrified muttering rising from below. "I'll need help getting him down safely. The Shellrazor is on the way."

-:-

His head and body felt like shit and the only things that kept him from panicking were the feel of the warm blanket atop him and the soft music playing off to the side.

With a practice long born of his captivity and refusal to let them see just how badly they hurt and scared him, he managed to hold in his pained groan as he opened his eyes only to be blinded by the light above. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to hold in the sudden intake of breath as he moved and the pain assaulted him.

"You're awake!" a vaguely familiar voice called in relief. "Though I'm sure you don't feel particularly great right now."

Mikey pried one eyelid halfway open again to peer at the other Donatello standing over him and disappointment lanced through him at the reminder he was so far from home. "Dude," he groaned pathetically, "has anyone told you that you've got a real knack for stating the obvious?"

For a moment, Donnie pursed his lips. Then, "Not in those exact words. No, don't try to get up, Mike."

Mikey froze mid-movement, staring at Donnie anxiously through one eye. "Why?" he rasped tiredly. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

He screwed up his face as he struggled to recall dim and nightmarish images. "We uh... got into a fight with some dog man and a... fish? Then... you were the ball in a game of fetch and I tried to catch you but the fish bit me and threw me overboard?" Mikey blinked uncertainly. That couldn't be right. It was too weird to be real and yet... it mostly felt right. He struggled to sit up and sucked in a breath as pain lanced afresh through his right shoulder.

Donnie gave a tight smile. "And that's why I told you not to get up, Mike," he admonished dryly. "Anyway, that's mostly right."

"Mostly?" Mikey frowned in confusion.

"Yes," Donnie nodded sharply. "We came up against Rahzar and Fishface on the way home last night. When you tried to catch me after Rahzar threw me, Fishface took advantage of your distraction to kick you into a wall."

"Oh..."

"Then when I collided with Raph, Fishface bit you and threw you off the roof."

Mikey felt a chill rush through him that the blanket couldn't combat. He gripped the blanket close to him, wincing at the sudden movement. "Wait... didn't Raph say something about Fishface's bite being poisonous?"

"Venomous," Donnie corrected without the heat of during the fight.

"Right, that." Mikey's eyes went wide with sudden fright. "Am I okay? I'm not going to die, am I?"

"No, you'll be fine," Donnie chuckled and sat down tiredly in the nearby chair. "You did scare us though, not only when you were thrown over the building but also when I came back for you. The hallucinations were pretty bad by then and you tried to run from us. Almost fell four stories straight down."

Another thrill of fear raced rampant through him as half-remembered shadowy images assaulted his mind. He'd thought... they were coming for him again in his delusion.

"We managed to get you home safely though and I gave you the antivenom. I had to stitch up one of the bite marks but the rest weren't so bad," Donnie assured him gently. "As for everything else," and here he looked sheepish – Mikey tossed him a suspicious look, "I'm sorry but I had to use my scanner on you to make sure nothing was broken."

That was right! He remembered hearing a crack as Fishface kicked him.

"I couldn't find anything broken but you do have some bad bruising, especially around your ribs so that's going to hurt for a while. You were lucky, Mike."

Mikey closed his eyes in relief. He wasn't sure he could handle too much more so soon after recovering from his last broken bone. "So I only imagined hearing that crack then?" he asked hopefully, the sound clear as a bell, an ominous one, in his memory.

Donnie looked surprised and then he smirked. "Oh no, that was real." He reached over to the bedside table and picked up Mike's T-phone. "The casing was damaged but I fixed it already."

Mikey gingerly reached over with his left hand to take the phone and inspect it. He couldn't see anything wrong with it but then again, it had been so new to begin with that it hadn't yet earnt any distinctive scratches or marks.

"I have a 3D printer so I just made a new case," Donnie shrugged by way of explanation.

"Oh," Mikey said simply. He put the phone down on the bed and looked back up at the other turtle. "So uh... how long was I out for anyway?"

Donnie hummed thoughtfully. "Not counting before I gave you the antivenom where you were in an out of lucidity and consciousness? A little over fifteen hours."

"So you guys haven't had breakfast or lunch? What time is it anyway?"

Donnie leant forward to look at the T-phone. "Ten to five."

"'k." Mikey carefully pushed his blanket back and went to swing tremulous legs from the bed when Donnie pushed him back down, a look of exasperation on his face.

"And what in the name of Darwin's beard do you think you're doing?" he asked flatly.

"Going to the bathroom and then starting dinner," Mikey blinked. "I'm okay now, dude and you..."

"You are not going anywhere near the kitchen until I say it's okay for you to get out of bed!" Donnie snapped. Mikey drew back fearfully at the vehement tone and Donnie breathed to rein in his temper. When he spoke again he sounded calm but Mikey could see the warning inherent in the younger turtle's eyes.

"You shouldn't technically even be in here, Mike. You should be in the lab where I can keep an eye on you and the only reason you aren't is because you would have panicked had you woken up there."

Mikey blinked in shock for a moment, then smiled warmly. "Aw, you do care," he teased.

"Of course, I do!" Donnie frowned, taken aback by the thought that Mike hadn't known he did. "Look, I know you don't enjoy staying in one room for too long at a time but for the next day or two, until I clear you to move around, you need to stay in bed and rest. You don't heal as fast as we do and Fishface's venom knocked you for a loop. It's going to take you time, okay?"

"Okay," Mikey agreed, slumping back reluctantly. "But what about dinner and the little turtle's room?"

"Dinner's taken care of. We ordered Murakami's. When the evening rush is over, Murakami-san will let us know and Leo or Raph will go get it," Donnie explained primly. "As for the other, I'll give you a hand. You are not to get up or leave the room alone. If no one is with you and you need to go, call one of us," he instructed, motioning to Mikey's T-phone. "If you are caught out of bed without someone with you, I will transfer you to the lab. Understood?"

Mikey nodded reluctantly.

"Good!" Donnie said crisply. "I'll give you a hand now and then let the others know you're awake. Okay?"

-:-

Everyone had been in to check on him, expressing how glad they were that he was awake and okay. Then, they had left, leaving only Leonardo with him and Leonardo's eyes had gone hard. Mikey groaned. He so did not need to be lectured by someone four years younger than him. "Before you start, Leo, I'm sorry I got involved when I wasn't supposed to but I had no choice."

"That may be but you still won't be coming topside with us again," Leo said flatly.

"Wait, what?" Mikey choked out incredulously. "Is this because I got hurt? Because if so, it happens, dude! Even to you!"

Leo shook his head once, sharply. "No, it's not because you were hurt. It's because you obviously can't follow orders. You were told to stay out of the fight and you didn't. Worse, you put yourself and us in danger by riling up the enemy."

"Are you serious?" Mikey snorted, sitting up straighter in disbelief and barely concealing the hiss of pain. "What the shell else was I supposed to do? You're the one who put his attention on me in the first damn place!"

Leo gazed at him, unimpressed. "And how do you say that when you're the one who kept egging Rahzar on, making jokes about him being a dog?" he asked, crossing his arms and gazing down at Mikey from above.

Mikey grit his teeth, seething at Leo's imperious attitude. "By telling me, in front of him, I might add, to stay back!" he snapped. "You as good as told him that I was the weak link and needed to be protected and that put a target on my shell without me even saying a word! And I had to help! There were too many of them for me not to!"

Leo shook his head as if to deny and Mikey caught a glimpse of Donnie and Raph hanging just outside the doorway.

"And by the way? You kept doing that all night, dude! Every fucking time we came across trouble like I'm a little kid with the attention span of a gnat!" he spat angrily. "And while I know my attention span isn't the greatest, I'm not that bad! I don't need reminding every damn time!"

Leonardo bristled. "Clearly you did or I wouldn't have needed to keep reminding you. Every single time we needed to help someone, you tried to follow us down!"

"No, you assumed that! All I was doing was watching! Mostly to make sure you were all okay but also partly to learn how you fight as a team! But yeah, sure, I'm the stupid, forgetful one, right? So I must've been trying to join in like you assumed!"

Leo worked his jaw angrily. "My decision stands, Mike. You aren't ready and had no business being up there with us in the first place and until I know you are both physicallyand mentally ready and can follow orders, you will not be joining us again!"

"Yeah?" Mikey countered indignantly. "Well, that's fine with me because I don't want to be on a team with a leader who doesn't trust their team and who has double standards when it comes to said team anyway!" he retorted as Leo turned to leave.

Leonardo stopped dead before turning and fixing him with a look. "Double standards? What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're fine with one team member flouting your authority and arguing no matter the circumstances but when it becomes impossible for someone else to follow a stupid order, they're the problem!" Mikey shot back, glaring up at the young leader.

"It wasn't a stupid order!" Leonardo retorted irritably. "It was the condition of you joining us topside!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're so right, Leonardo. It wasn't a stupid order but you repeating it over and over and in front of the enemy was!" Mikey seethed, his stomach beginning to perform uncontrollable flip-flops at the vitriol he was spewing. This was going nowhere and it was making him sick. "Anyway, message received. I'm tired and sore and would like to sleep now. You know the way out, dude!"

-:-

"Ah, good, you are awake."

Mikey looked up from listlessly browsing the net on his T-phone to see Splinter in the doorway, a tray in hand.

"How are you feeling, Michelangelo?"

"Fine," he answered dully. He was bored and he was frustrated and annoyed with Leonardo. He wanted to get up and move about but he didn't want to wind up confined to the bed in the lab with all that terrifying Kraang tech nearby and constantly reminding him of his time as their prisoner.

He wanted to go home where his brothers didn't treat him like he was incapable or some joke, despite all the jokes he cracked at inopportune times.

Worse, he missed his family so badly and he wanted, needed, to cuddle with Klunk so badly it hurt.

Splinter gave him a searching look as if he didn't quite believe the answer Mikey had given. "May I come in?"

"It's your home," Mikey replied sullenly, returning his attention to his phone.

A brief frown crossed Splinter's furred face. "Yes it is but this is your room."

"No, it's not," Mikey muttered petulantly.

"For the time being, it is your room," Splinter corrected himself in agreement as he stepped inside. "It is... good that the smell has mostly faded."

Had it? Mikey glanced up and over at the dresser by the door. On it sat the can of air freshener Raph had left a week ago, insisting that Mike use it every day.

"The food has arrived," Splinter offered, walking over to stop beside him. "Donatello ordered some plain noodles with vegetables mixed in and I brewed some tea for you. I know you are not fond of tea but this is weak enough that it hopefully should not bother you too much. Also, it is medicinal and should help with the pain so I expect you to drink it regardless."

"Oh, th-thanks, Sensei." Embarrassed by his behaviour, Mikey put his T-phone aside and sat up straighter, making sure to avoid leaning on his right arm. The deep bruising across his plastron still made it difficult, however.

"Are you sure you are alright, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked gently as he placed the tray down over his lap.

It was one of the types designed for breakfast in bed but obviously homemade. If Mikey had to guess, probably by Leo for treating Splinter on Father's Day or other special occasions. Mikey frowned down at it, pushing aside the fresh welling of hurt over the argument he'd had with Leonardo. It didn't look very well made and he wondered how old it was but it at least seemed sturdy enough.

"Yeah, I'm just... I'm fine, I promise."

"Alright," Splinter replied, sounding a little disappointed.

Mikey frowned again and fingered the tray.

"Do you need anything else or would you like me to send you some company?"

After his last conversation with Leo, he didn't want to be around anyone just now. He shook his head dully. "No. I think I'm just going to eat and then try to sleep some more."

Splinter gazed down at him a moment before nodding. "Alright. Just make sure you call should you need anything."

And then he left, leaving Mikey stuck alone in the room that was not his.

In the world that was not his.

-:-

"Hey," a rough voice called from the doorway. Mikey sighed and turned his head to see Raphael standing there uncertainly.

"Hey," he returned listlessly. "What's up?"

Raph shrugged and entered the room, his bright green eyes roving over the room with a kind of wary hurt, just like they did every time he entered it. "Just came to get your tray and see if you needed anything. You doing okay?"

Mikey shifted and winced as the action pulled on the stitches in his shoulder and the bruising across his body. "Only thing I need is out of here. Think you could ask Don if I could at least sit in the pit instead? I promise to stay put."

Raph's mouth quirked slightly in amusement. "Trust me, you don't wanna be out there right now anyway. Not unless you want to deal with Leo and his overbearing attitude."

"Pass," Mikey retorted flatly.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Raph laughed. "You know, I'm really not used to seeing anyone else stand up to him."

"I'm not used to needing to," Mikey pointed out with a snort, crossing his arms and attempting to hide the fresh wince of pain that accompanied the movement.

"Really? Is your Leo more... reasonable?"

"Dude, my Leo's a saint but you'd try his patience for sure!" Mikey replied with a very small, hollow laugh. "Seriously though, just like anyone else, he has his moments but always owns them afterwards when he does." His eyes flickered towards the door. Unlike this Leonardo, it seemed.

"Huh, you've got a point there," Raph grunted again. His gaze slid away to look around the room again. "Hey, uh... thanks for coming to help me back there. If you didn't, he would have gotten me one for sure but if you ever mention this, I'll deny ever admitting I needed the help! Got it?" he threatened lowly.

Mikey stiffened and his gaze, now fixed on Raph, became harder.

"... but you're right too. You had no choice but to get involved. If you didn't, you would've been targeted for sure."

"Thank you!" Mikey exploded in relief that one person understood.

"But did you really need to piss Rahzar off so much?"

He couldn't help but smirk. "Yes, yes I did because it meant he'd be off balance and more likely to make mistakes. Besides, would you rather I went against a flawed mutant who used to be human or a robot that couldn't be distracted?"

"Huh, you've got a point there." Raph grunted again. His gaze slid away to look around the room again. "Hey, uh... thanks for coming to help me back there. If you didn't, he would have gotten me one for sure but if you ever mention this again, I'll deny ever admitting I needed the help! Got it?"

Mikey nodded solemnly, appreciating what he could tell was rare praise from this version of Raphael.

"I'm just glad you had the sense to step back again afterwards," and here, Raph scowled mightily and looked directly at Mikey again. He leant forward and flicked him hard in the forehead as he spoke, "But don't you ever stop paying attention in the middle of a fight like that ever again! You got that?"

"What the!" Mikey squawked in indignation. "I was paying attention the whole time, thank you very much, dude! I just... when I stepped back, I was trying to watch both fights, that's all. I only got taken out because I tried to catch Donnie!"

"Yeah, appreciated but I also heard you laughing about something just before that," Raph growled.

"That's what I do, dude," Mikey retorted, rolling his eyes. "I laugh. It helps me cope with the crap that is our lives, okay?"

"Right!" Raph snorted in disbelief. "Either way, pay attention next time so we don't have to babysit your shell."

Babysit? Really?

"Got it?" he repeated.

"Dude, I'm older than you, remember? If anyone needs babysitting, it's you guys! Seriously, you're like itty, bitty baby turtles compared to my bros," Mikey teased, moving his finger and thumb close together to show how small they were. Despite the height difference not actually being that much. Then he grew serious again. "Not that it matters... it's not like there's going to be a next time anyway. Leo made it clear there won't be one and like I told him, I don't want to be in a team with a leader who doesn't trust his team and repeats commands every five minutes."

Raphael rocked back slightly, his eyes softening. "Yeah, I get that." He fixed his gaze on Michelangelo's again. "Look, I should probably tell you something. Mikey, our brother, that is, does need to be reminded. A lot. His attention span is the worst. Leo... we know you're not him and that you're different but we've never worked together with you. We're just used to telling Mikey over and over and to be fair, you did keep on coming over every time we engaged with the enemy. I nearly told you to stay back a couple of times too."

Mikey's gaze darkened at the admission. "I won't deny I wanted to get involved but the only reason I kept coming over was to watch. Like you said, we haven't worked together before and I need to learn how to work with you guys sooner or later so I wanted to watch and learn how you all fight outside of the dojo."

"Okay," Raph replied with a sharp nod. "Look, I should go get rid of this tray before it attracts... things," he said with a small shudder he tried to hide. "Don won't let you get up yet but if you're bored, I'll see if I can steal his laptop for you. Okay?"

"Okay," Mikey couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, bro!"

-:-

Late that night when Donatello came to check on Mike before bed, it was to see the other-dimensional turtle clearly agitated and practically pinging off the walls despite still being in the bed. His gaze softened as he met desperate sky-blue eyes.

"Can I please move to the pit for the night?" Mike begged, his eyes darting ever so briefly to each wall.

No, not just the walls but the posters on the walls, Donnie realised in shock. Particularly the posters with eyes.

"I'll keep still and stay in the beanbag. I just..." A faint hint of embarrassment filled the other turtle's eyes before being swallowed up and drowned in desperation again.

Donnie suppressed a sigh as he came deeper into the room. "Is it really so bad that you can't handle it for a night or two?" he asked gently. It would be far better for Mike to stay in bed but if being in this much distress was the outcome, then...

"Yes, it really, really is!" Mike burst out desperately.

Donnie gazed around the room again. The door was wide open and Mike had managed to sleep through the night a couple of times recently thanks to the music piped through the T-phone but he knew the other turtle still had issues being stuck in one room for too long. That and he remembered how Mike had commented about how the Kraang had always been watching him. The eyes on the posters weren't Kraang but watching was still watching and it clearly made him uncomfortable to the point where he often shied away when one of them scrutinised him too long.

"Be honest with me, Mike. How badly do you hurt? Are you having any trouble breathing? Any dizziness?"

Mike groaned. "It hurts a lot, especially if I'm lying down. Sitting up actually helps but getting up doesn't. I haven't been dizzy but... the only time breathing hurts is when I move too quickly or suddenly."

Donnie nodded thoughtfully, contemplating his words. "Alright you can sleep out there tonight but not down in the pit. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll move the beanbag up top."

"Thank you," Mike breathed in utter relief, already tossing back his covers.

"Same deal though," Donnie warned. "If you get up without one of us there to help you, you'll be relocated to the bed in the lab. Understood?"

Mike nodded frantically and Donnie could see that even that hurt. "Got it!"

"Alright, wait here, I'll be back for you shortly," Donnie instructed sternly before turning and walking back out the door and for the family room, anxiety gnawing at him.

He really didn't like this but it was obvious that if he didn't agree, Mike's mental health would only suffer more and that could be worse in the long run. At least with this new deal, Mike wouldn't need to traverse down into the pit, jarring and putting pressure on his injuries more, he thought as he jumped lightly down into the pit. Picking up the beanbag and a throw rug they normally kept on the benches, he climbed out again.

Looking around, he searched for a good place, nice and open and not so near a thoroughfare that a less aware turtle might stumble through first thing in the morning, and spread the throw rug across the space before placing the beanbag atop it, arranging it carefully.

Then, he went back for Mike, smiling awkwardly as he entered the room and Mike immediately moved to get up.

"Do you need a hand?" he asked, hovering beside the injured turtle anxiously.

"Nope!" Mike answered, popping the p in an effort to appear nonchalant which didn't quite work. He gingerly worked his way to his feet, at least looking grateful for Donnie's proximity rather than being annoyed by it.

"Okay, tell me what you need so I can bring it for you," Donnie instructed. He stripped the blanket from the bed the moment Mike stood stiffly beside him.

"Uh... sketchpad and pencils, journal and uh... that book," Mike answered, motioning cautiously to a nearby novel.

'White Tiger' Donnie noted with interest. April had actually recommended it to him some time ago but he hadn't found time to give it a try, what with everything constantly going on since the day they turned fifteen. "Is it good?"

"Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. I'm nearly halfway through and I've already asked April to borrow the next one," Mike answered eagerly, grinning sheepishly. Outside of comics, he wasn't a huge reader but when he found a novel that excited him, he tended to plough through it at superspeed.

"I might have to give it a try after all," Donnie conceded as he and Mike began the slow walk to the beanbag in the other room.

"Yeah, there's this one part, in particular, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of," Mike chuckled knowingly, earning a weird look from Donnie. "Though where the author got the idea from, I really dunno."

When they arrived, Donnie hurried to place down the items he was carrying but a hiss of pain informed him he was too slow as Michelangelo lowered himself to the beanbag with a grimace.

"You should have waited for me to help you!" Donnie scolded in annoyance, staring the other-dimensional ninja down.

"I was fine!" Mikey immediately protested.

"No, you really weren't! Mike, I'm serious, you need to take it easy for a few days and getting up and down from a beanbag won't help!"

Michelangelo's face darkened slightly at the rebuke, "Yeah, I get that, bro but at least I can kinda sit up to sleep now. Laying down hurts more."

"There is that, " Donnie conceded with a sigh. He spread the blanket over Mike and moving a small coffee table beside him, placed the books and pencils within easy reach. "I'll be right back. I'm going to put my laptop on charge – you can have it again in the morning. Also... would you like company for the night? I can bring the spare mattress out and sleep here in case you need anything."

For a moment, a look of longing lingered on Mike's face before it disappeared and he shook his head.

"Too late," Donnie cut in before Mike could answer. "At least this way I can keep an eye on you to try to make sure you don't do something stupid like try to get up and wander around on your own."

"Ugh, you really don't need to, Don," Mikey groaned pathetically. "I'm a big turtle now. I'll be okay without someone holding my hand."

Mike's act was not fooling him. He could see the relief in the other turtle's eyes. "I know but humour me, okay?" Donnie asked more kindly.

"Fine," Mike grumbled. "Just... I don't want you putting yourself out."

"It's no bother," he promised with a small smile. He then went away to get the mattress Casey sometimes used from the junk room, stopping to gaze around the cramped space. There was so much stuff that there were barely even any pathways to get to things, though there was at least space around the sewing table. He grimaced at the unexpected sight of the Bradford cutout, wondering why it hadn't been destroyed or thrown out instead of merely relocated.

There were also a lot of other items in here that really should've been elsewhere. Like the tip or his lab. If nothing else, they really were due for a proper cleanup.

As he carried the thin, roll-up mattress out, his thoughts raced. Mike could be here for a long time, possibly even months or years, and he really needed a safe space he could actually call his own. As he laid out the mattress beside the other-dimensional turtle, he resolved to bring it up with his brothers and father the very next chance he had.

-:-

A/N:

Kuso: Japanese expletive.

"White Tiger' is the first in a series of novels by Kylie Chan, one of my two favourite authors. It's a series set in Hong Kong from the POV of an Australian woman who works as a nanny and tutor to a rich man's young daughter and it's chock full of ancient Chinese gods, demons, magic, shape-shifters and martial arts. Not to mention plenty of pop culture references, including of a particular Ninja Turtle who wields dual katanas.

The best thing was I recommended this book and series to my mum and next time I spoke to her, she called me a cow, haha. Turned out that she who normally goes to bed by about 9 pm was up reading until after 1 am XD

Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.