Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN.
Thank you.
Chapter #40
*Sunday June 7th, 10:00p.m.*
Sam and Jay were still sitting in the med wing. Each of the brothers had gone back to their own rooms and were taking this time to calm themselves down, so the two human siblings were all alone to handle their own business.
Jay slowly shook his head as he stared at his sister, who was staring down at the ground and fidgeting with her fingers.
"I just…I don't get it" he said as if he was in pain.
Sam slowly lifted her head up to look at her brother.
"Just…we're all the family each of us has left Sam…I thought you knew better than to hide things from me like this…"
The guilt Sam felt was making her stomach hurt. She crossed her arms across her abdomen and pressed inwards, trying to ease the pain from her emotions.
"You just have so much going on, and there's still so much about me that none of us understands yet. I didn't want you to worry and be ripped away from all the important things in your life-"
"You are the most important thing in my life!" Jay bellowed. "Cut whatever this shit is about not wanting to mess up my life! The number one thing that could mess up my life is losing you!"
He tried to calm himself as he put his hands behind his head as he took deep breaths. He didn't want to upset her and hurt her more, but how could she not see that she was the most important thing to her? He was her sister, the last of his true family since his childhood. He had literally watched her grow since the day she was born. Hell, he had helped change her diapers since he was 7 when she was born. She was the new baby and Mrs. Allan saw how much he wanted to help care for her, so she taught him the different ways to care for babies. He had gained so much experience in learning how to care for both Sam and Chuck because of the age difference between all of them. And now that he was her legal guardian, in many ways it felt like he had raised Sam from the beginning, how could she not see that?
"Sam…I've cared for you since the day you were born…why would you now suddenly think I wouldn't want to know where you go and what happens to you?" he asked calmly.
Sam's eyes fell back to the floor.
"I remember you taking care of me when I was little. I remember you helping cut my food when we went out to eat. You always remembered to pack my coloring book and my crayons in the diaper bag so that I was never bored when the adults talked. I'd be broke if I had to give a dollar every time you tied my shoes or zipped up my jacket. But…that was because you wanted to play the big brother role…now there is so much more for you. You're going to have a wife, and knowing you two you'll be having kids soon after. You have careers you actually enjoy and are dedicated towards. You have a life that you deserve to live, I don't want you to lose that because you have to worry about me and my abnormalities from the mutagen…"
"Sam…the reason I'm able to continue living and enjoy all those great opportunities is because you survived. When I thought you had passed on with everyone else the night everything went to hell…"
Jay tilted his head back and ran his hands down his face in order to wipe away the tears that were pricking his eyes,
"I was going to take my own life that night."
Sam looked up at him in shock.
"What?"
"Life wouldn't have been worth living if you had left me to. As soon as the paramedics said that one of my siblings had a chance to live and was rushed to the hospital, that was the last match that kept my soul burning to stay alive. Knowing that you still had a chance to make it through that night was the only thing that kept me going. So don't tell me you want me to focus on the things I have in my life when you literally are the reason I still have my own life to live."
Sam was speechless and her brother could sense this.
He gave her a small smile. "I never decided that I had to take care of you Sam, I've always wanted to. I chose to help care for you when we were kids, and I want to take care of you now. Heh, you could be married with kids and I will still find ways for me to take care of you-"
That fast Sam cut her brother off as she rushed forward and gave him a hug.
"I'm sorry…" she muttered. "I know you care, I'm sorry" she said as she squeezed tighter as she hugged him.
Jay pulled her in tightly as well.
"I know you care, and that's why you make these stupid decisions," he said as they both let out a short chuckle, "but you need to tell me things. You need to keep me updated about everything."
Sam took a step back.
"I should have waited for you to get back to me, and I know I was in the wrong for only leaving voice messages, but-"
"I know" Jay said with a nod. "I want to be mad, and I want to yell at you for leaving the freaking country before I even knew it, but I also know you're not a normal human anymore."
"Anymore?" Sam asked with a questioning smile. "When was I ever?"
Now Jay was smiling as well. "That's fair. You know what I mean though."
He held onto her hands as he stood up and looked down upon his younger sister.
"But you can literally be a super hero now. I want to protect you and keep you in my sight at all times, but I know that's unreasonable to have that happen. I mean god, you were lifting planes, and you were keeping people from falling out of the sky. As incredible as the guys are, it's obvious that they needed you."
As much as Sam loved to hear these words come from her brother's mouth, she could also sense his sorrow as he spoke.
"Hey, it doesn't matter what I can do. If you want me to stay back then I stay back. You're the reason I ended up staying on this earth as well, and if you need me by your side then I'm here for you."
Tears began to form in the man's eyes.
"I wish I could tell you to do that, but I know there will be moments where the world will need you just as much as I do. Just…please be careful, okay?"
Sam shot his a confused look.
"Wait…does that mean?"
"Yeah, no more asking permission to go save the world. But you need to update me on whatever happens. Like about these blackouts. Maybe I can work with some of the guys and we can find ways to test these new findings out. And then I can update Donnie and he can study our info as well. But you can't hide stuff like this from me anymore, okay?"
Sam nodded and hugged her brother once again.
"I understand. And thank you, I know that can't be easy for you to say all that."
"Oh I know eventually I'm going to kick myself for allowing this."
The two laughed, knowing that at some point crazier events would occur where the turtles, or someone, would need Sam's help because of the abilities she had gained. Jay didn't like it, but he knew his sister could save people. He would be terrified every time she would be needed, but he also knew that she was the strongest person he knew in every way.
This included her ability to connect with people, and he could sense that she wanted to use these social abilities right now.
"Alright, I can sense you want to go on your apology tour. Go on, be a mature adult" he said as he waved his hand for her to leave.
"Thanks big bro" Sam said before she turned on her heel and exited the med wing.
Jay sat down and leaned back in his chair. He was smiling, but now that his sister had left the room, the tears began to fall.
"It's not easy being the parent, is it?"
Jay whipped around to see Splinter standing in the doorway.
"Sensei…"
Splinter walked in and placed his hand on the man's shoulder.
"It is alright to feel scared, terrified even, my son. It's never an easy decision to let our grip go from the ones we care about most."
A few tears continued to fall as Jay spoke with the wise rat.
"I know she can create change, and I want her to, but if anything ever happens to her…"
Jay couldn't even finish his sentence because even more tears began to fall.
Splinter whipped his tail to snatch a box of tissues and then carefully brought them over to the hurting man.
"Thanks Sensei."
The old rat sighed.
"Have I ever told you about the first night I caught the boys sneaking back in from a night out?"
Jay shook his head.
"It was silent, and I heard the tiniest creek. I jolted awake and checked on the boy's room only to see that they were all gone. The first thought that filled my mind was that something happened and they had been hurt. And what do I discover? They had all snuck out! Unbelievable!"
Jay smiled and rapidly shook his head.
"Ohhhh you wouldn't believe how livid I was the first time I caught Sam sneaking back in. I know how you feel."
"You get so worried about them getting hurt, and then you find out that your loved ones were throwing themselves into danger instead! You think you know what's best for them, and you think that they can only be safe when you're nearby…and yet they told me about how they saved people who had been taken hostage by the Foot. They had taken matters into their own hands, but they were able to handle everything on their own."
"Are you talking about when they met April? Because they told me about that and how furious you were with them" Jay said with a laugh as he imagined the huge muscular turtles looking scared as hell just like they had described.
Splinter laughed the same way. "Yes, it was that night. And then the next day they fought the Shredder together. I wanted to be mad, I hated that they were fighting these battles…but at the same time I learned that I needed to trust my sons. I had taught them so much, and they had all grown into such skilled fighters with big hearts. I wanted things to go back to the way they were, where the boys couldn't leave the lair and had to stay down below…but I knew that the world needed them. I will always need them and I will never stop worrying, but at the same time, it was the time to start letting them go."
Jay clenched onto his shirt right where his heart would be.
"Does it ever hurt? Because it hurts now."
Splinter nodded.
"I have felt that way many times, including the other night when I heard the reports on the police scanner. My heart sunk, and I felt a lump in my throat. I was so scared of what would happen to them, to all 5 of them."
"What got you through it?" Jay asked sincerely.
"Confidence. Trust. Believing that as tough as the situation was, at least one of them would be able to figure out what to do in order to settle the situation. They all have their strengths, and together, there is nothing they cannot do."
Jay nodded.
"I know I need to start letting her go, I mean she is 17 now. She'll be in college soon. I can't keep monitoring her every move. I want to, I'll always want to, but I know I can't."
Splinter placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"It's never an easy choice to make my son, but it is something us guardians know we must do. If we love the ones we care about, there are times where we need to let go. You have to trust that you have raised her to be able to defend herself and make the right choices as she continues to grow."
"Our job is never easy is it?"
"Ha! Never!" the old rat laughed.
The two continued to talk and reminisce for a while. It was midnight when they sensed a presence enter the room. The two turned around to see Leonardo standing behind them.
"This a good time?" Leo asked.
Splinter stood up and smiled. "It is time I head to bed. I'll leave you two be" he said as he stood up. He placed a hand on Leo's shoulder as he passed by him, right before the officially left the room.
Jay nodded his head to the side, signaling for his companion to sit next to him.
"What's up?"
Leo pursed his lips together as he walked over and took a seat next to his human friend.
"I'm sorry for letting Sam go with us without officially confirming you knew of her whereabouts. That was irresponsible on my part, and I apologize for not knowing that she had left with us without your approval."
Jay couldn't help but smile. Leo was always so formal, and he would always appreciate Leo's honesty and sincerity. He understood what it was like to be an older brother, so he knew how Jay felt during situations like this.
"It's not your fault. She knew better and she took advantage of your trust. But, I get why she did it. Sounds like you guys really needed her" he said with a raised brow.
"*sigh* I'm not proud to admit it, but she saved our butts a few times today."
Jay was nervous to ask, but he needed to know.
"Hey…what happened at the end of your mission that got you guys so worked up about Sam joining you?"
Leo paused for what seemed like an eternity before he finally gained the courage to talk.
"Donnie could sense she was getting weak since she had used her power more today than ever before. He hid her in some brush by the side of the river where we were fighting. My brothers and I ended up falling down a waterfall, and apparently when Sam saw this from the sidelines, her powers took over because of her emotions. She fought Bebop and Rocksteady by herself…"
Leo unintentionally paused. He had just talked to Sam about this a little while ago, but the feeling of not being able to do anything to protect his sister still terrified him.
"Leo?" Jay asked cautiously.
Leo looked back up at him and his brows rose.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"You okay?"
Leo shook his head slowly.
"No."
"What happened?"
"…we fell down the waterfall when Sam fought the mutants on her own. They're idiots, but they're big and stronger than my brothers and me. We didn't know what was happening. We rushed from the water as quickly as we could and we were running around looking for her. Thank god Donnie found her in the water. She was lying on a log that floating along with the current. She told us that as she was running from the mutants that her body just went numb and she couldn't move…we failed her."
Jay leaned back in his chair. He had just talked to Splinter about learning to let go, yet now he told that Sam could have ended up with a tragic fate. What was he supposed to do?
"It won't happen again. She told us you said she could go with us, but don't worry it won't happen" Leo said quickly, reassuring his pained friend that their sister would never be put in harm's way ever again.
Jay, still leaned back in his chair, turned and looked towards his friend.
"I did say she could go, and she will."
Leo's eyes went wide.
"Why?" he asked, an angered and concerned tone coming from his speech.
"I was talking to your dad. He told me how it wasn't easy for him to let you guys go fight, but he knew that the world needed you. I'm terrified that something worse could happen to her, but I'm even more scared of what will happen if she doesn't fight."
Leo paused for a moment and let the words he just herd sink in. He remembered having discussions with his father when the boys were officially told they could patrol the city. He and his brothers were thrilled that they were now allowed to help protect the people of the city. Donnie had even researched the statistics of the crime rates after the four began their nightly patrols and the number of crimes (or successful crimes) had decreased, and the number of criminals being locked up had increased. As proud and excited as he and his brothers were, he knew that they were all scaring the hell out of their father every time they left the lair.
"So dad talked to you about all that?" Leo asked softly.
"Yeah. He worries about all of you, but he trusts that you will all make the right decisions in the end. I don't think I'm ready for that responsibility of letting Sam choose what's best for her, but I feel like my time is running out to keep making those decisions."
"You're still her brother, you'll always have a say in what she does."
Jay smiled at Leo.
"I know, and that's why I told her to help you guys save the world. If I made it known I didn't want her to, then she wouldn't. There will be people out there that will need her just as much as I do. She can help, just like you guys can, I just have to stay strong and stay positive."
Leo shot the man a small smile.
"You're a good brother, she's lucky to have you."
"Ohhhhh she's not gonna think that way when she's grounded. She's still gonna pay for leaving the damn country and not even officially telling me!"
The way he spoke displayed how frustrated he was, but he was also smiling. He was pissed, but he was happy she made it home and that this could be a laughable moment.
"You guys mind if I crash here tonight? Brenda knows I'm here and she's out with friends tonight anyway."
"No problem, we have your 'spend the night' kit in the guest bedroom."
The two went to their individual rooms, thanked each other for the talk, and called it a night.
*Earlier that night, back to 10:00p.m.*
Leo and Raph had gone back to their individual rooms. They were still very frustrated about everything that had happened recently. The lack of communication, the sneakiness, the blaming of everyone for everything that had gone wrong. Out of all the brothers, they were the two who were the worst at handling their upset and frustrated emotions. Raph paced back and forth in his room for what seemed like forever, and ironically, Leo was doing the same thing. They continued to blame everyone else, including the other brother, for many of the reasons that so many things had gone wrong lately. It wasn't until the two thought of Sam verbally blowing up at everyone that the two stopped pacing and instead just stood still.
Neither of them were proud of the words they had both said to the others in the group recently, and they began to rethink some of their actions as well. Hearing Sam yell at them the way she did was eye opening for the two hot heads. That was one of the unique qualities that Sam had, and not just in regards to these two individual brothers either. Without her realizing it, Sam somehow held this weight over the brothers where when she was truly upset or hurt, the brothers felt her pain. Not literally, but they would feel hurt whenever she did. They didn't understand it, and none of them could explain it no matter how hard they tried.
Seeing her so upset and share everything she did to the brothers finally made the two oldest brothers pause, breathe, and reflect on what they had said and done. Neither of them was thrilled about what would come next, but they knew that they had to go and apologize to each other and to the rest of the group. Leo left his room and began making his way over towards the opposite side of the lair. As he was about to cross the living room area, he looked up and was surprised to see Raph standing in the hallway to his and Mikey's bedroom.
They both just stood there, looking at each other with blank expressions, neither of them knowing where to go from here.
Leo nodded his head to the side. "Couch?"
"Couch" Raph mumbled.
The two brothers awkwardly made their way over towards the couch and both flopped down onto the cushions of the opposite sides of the piece of furniture.
They sat in silence, waiting for the other brother to begin the awkward and emotional conversation.
"Are you gonna talk or not?" Raph asked, adding a little more sass to his tone than he intended.
Leo squinted his eyes and stared at his brother.
"Why do I have to talk first?"
"Because you're the leader, AND the older brother" he said as he waved his hand in front of him as if this was common sense that Leonardo was supposed to know.
Leo sighed. He went to open his mouth to begin the conversation, only to be cut off by Raph who blurted out "I'm sorry for sneaking into police headquarters okay?"
Raph grunted and looked off to the side towards the lab, away from his brother.
Leo looked down at his feet as he took his turn to talk.
"I get why you did it."
This surprised Raph as he turned back towards his brother and stared at him, curiously waiting to hear the rest of his response.
"I cast you out, and I removed your input from an important decision. I'm sorry."
Raph was now facing forward. He couldn't look at his brother when he was this peeved.
"How could you do that? That mutagen could have changed our lives. How can you just leave two of your brothers out of the decision? Well technically all three since you told Donnie what to say rather than letting him talk for himself."
"Because you know what you wanted, I know what you wanted, but you guys don't think of what can happen. Everyone thinks everything will run smoothly, but none of you consider the negative side. None of you consider what would truly happen and I was right."
"Oh you were right?"
"Yes! They hurt you, and Mikey! I knew that people wouldn't accept us but you guys never listen! I knew something like what happened at headquarters would happen and yet you all fought against me anyway and did whatever you wanted! You guys know what you want but you don't know what's best for you!"
"And I guess you know exactly what each of us needs right?" Raph asked in a rather nasty tone.
"Yes! I'm your older brother, to all of you! I know everything about each and every one of you! I mean do you really think I would deny this opportunity just because to teach you a lesson about accepting who we all are? Do you all really think I would deny an incredible chance for all of to live and experience your dreams just to try and teach you a lesson? Hell, letting you guys use the mutagen would allow you to further accept yourself as you adapt to new surroundings and get to act as your true selves without any secrets. I said no the mutagen because if anything goes wrong then all four of you will be crushed if you lose whatever you gain from being human, and what happened at police headquarters proved that I was right! People would accept us as humans, but once they see we're mutants than they want nothing to do with us unless it's hunting us down."
Raph huffed.
"You can't play the older brother card forever."
Leo was confused.
"What did you say?"
"You always say you do stuff and that you know stuff because you're the oldest brother, but it works the other way around to."
Leo was a bit shocked to hear this. He had always kept a close watch on his brothers in order to protect them, but, had they been watching him to? When?
Raph was able to read his brother's expression and could sense his shock and confusion, so he continued to explain himself.
"You're always watching over us, so that means we also have to watch over you. You think we don't pay attention to details but we do, and we all know that you want to be human to. You have ever since you were 10 and read that comic about the mutant samurai who lived with humans and had a wife and daughter. It was all a dream, but it gave him the courage to try and work with humans in the real world, and he succeeded in doing so. You make it sound like we're the only ones who want to be human, but you want a life like that just as much as we do."
Leo just sat there speechless. He never knew that his brothers knew about his dreams that resided from reading that comic book.
"If you knew how I felt, why didn't you say anything?" he said as he turned his head to look at his brother.
Raph let out a light chuckle.
"Because you're like me, you don't talk about emotions unless thoroughly provoked. It's easier to act tough and keep it bottled up until someone realizes it needs to come out. And even then it can turn into something ugly. You know, like telling your brothers that their opinion doesn't mean shit" Raph said with a smirk and raised brows.
Leo pursed his lips and looked away once again.
"It's okay," Raph said, "I could tell by your face you regretted it the second you said it."
"I should have known better. About hiding information from you, about how to talk you down. I should have explained my thoughts then and there, both about you guys and my own fears of wanting a human life and the consequences of losing it" he stated somberly.
Raph could sense the pain in his brother's voice and pat his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Hey, I told you it's okay. We're the same when it comes to showing emotions. You seem like an ass, but it's because you're trying to protect us. You would never purposefully hurt us. I know it because I've been there more times than I'd like to admit…"
He began to pull his hand back towards his own body as he looked down and glowered towards the floor.
"…and that means I shouldn't have argued with you the way I did, and I shouldn't have gone against you and snuck into headquarters."
Leo looked over and saw how hurt his brother was about his actions.
Leo chuckled. "Looks like we both messed up big time."
Raph gave a small yet still depressed smile that mimicked the expression his brother was displaying.
"And worst of all, we didn't just mess with each other, but we hurt Mikey."
"I know" Leo said as he squeezed his eyes tight. "Did you see his face the night it happened?"
"No, thank god. I probably would have done worse shit than Sam if I had. But his voice alone was brutal to hear."
Leo stood up from the couch and turned around, holding his hand out to Raph.
"We should go check on him, make sure he's okay after everything that's happened."
Raph smiled as he took his brother's hand.
"Agreed."
"Wow, you're agreeing with me. Shows how serious this is for you" Leo teased.
"Shut up and lead the way" Raph said as he playfully shoved his brother forward.
A minute later the two were standing in front of Mikey's door. Leo carefully twisted the know and cracked the door open.
"Is it safe to come in?" Leo asked.
"Yup."
Leo pushed open the door and saw his baby brother reading comics books in a bean bag chair in the corner of the room.
"Hey, can we talk?"
Mikey looked up with a dull expression, but this soon changed to a more serious look once he saw both his eldest brothers enter the room.
Raph shut the door behind him and then walked over and sat in a bean bag chair next to Mikey, while Leo sat in front of the two brothers.
"Um, whatever happened, I didn't do it" Mikey stated.
The older two began to laugh.
"You're not in trouble you dork" Raph said, "we're just checking on you."
Mikey squinted his eyes.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you've been through a lot lately, and we want to make sure that you're truly okay" Leo calmly stated.
Mikey was honestly confused, but this was because he just moved on from depressed moments rather quickly if it wasn't anything too serious that had occurred.
"Um, what exactly have I been through lately?"
"I shouldn't have brought you to headquarters with me" Raph said with a gloomy expression.
Now Mikey understood why they were concerned.
He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
"Guys, it's no big deal-"
"But it is," Leo cut in, "because you've always dreamed of getting to live a life where you can interact with others. You're a natural born people person and yet you can never be around people. And we know that what they said at headquarters damaged your dreams of getting to meet and communicate with humans."
The youngest brother paused as his gaze was now aimed at the floor.
"It is what it is, you know? We have Sam, and Jay, and April. We don't need anybody else. If monsters is what they see then that's just how it is. That doesn't mean I can't dream anymore. As long as I'm breathing then I can dream whatever I want to. No one can change that" he replied with a small smile.
Leo and Raph both shot each other a glance that displayed their pride and also their sorrow for their younger brother. They were proud of him for not giving up and for continuing to dream of a life where he was surrounded by others, and they were also proud of his abilities in being able to see the bright side to such saddening situations. However, it also hurt them how he had to force himself to realize how the majority of the world would always see them. This realization from their youngest brother was as heartbreaking to them as hearing him say 'we're not monsters' the night the cops went to attack them at headquarters.
That's when Leo remembered something that Sam had told him on the plane.
"But not everybody thinks were monsters" Leo mumbled to himself.
Mikey shook his head.
"Don't worry bro, you don't have to lie to me about it" he said in a genuine tone.
Raph's eyes went wide as he realized what Leo was getting at.
"No, Sam said that there were people who wanted to meet us. Like, hundreds of people that know we exist that were forced into the Foot clan" Raph stated, enthusiasm creeping up into his voice.
"What?" Mikey asked
"I knew you two were listening in on us" Leo said as he smiled and shook his head at Raph.
"Guilty as charged" he replied with the same expression. He then turned towards Mikey. "Donnie and I were spying on Sam and Leo while they were talking when we were on the plane."
"Ohhhhhhh, where was I?"
"Asleep."
"Darn" Mikey pouted. He then displayed a confused expression and looked back up towards Leo.
"But, what did you mean there are hundreds of people who want to meet us?"
"Sam said that there are hundreds of people from the Foot survivors who have seen or at least heard about us, and they want to meet us and thank us for helping rescue them and bring down Shredder" Leo calmly stated. He wasn't quite sure how Michelangelo would react to this news. He wasn't sure if the youngest would be thrilled to hear the good news, or if he would be become irrational from not knowing about this information sooner. Of course, Raphael didn't consider this as at all when he spoke.
"Yeah, and apparently Sam tried to tell fearless for a while about these people and he just ignored the idea as soon as he heard it involved other people" Raph scoffed.
Mikey shot his oldest brother a despondent pouty face.
"Thank you Raphael" Leo groaned as he bit his lip. "I talked to Sam about it and apologized for always immediately shutting the idea down. BUT the main reason I brought it up is because that means there are other people out there that think we're heroes, and NOT monsters" he said with a reassuring smile.
The smile on Mikey's face seemed like it would never stop growing. He couldn't believe that there were people out there that wanted to meet him and his brothers.
"Tch, of course we couldn't have met any of those people the night we broke into headquarters" Raph mumbled.
"But there are people that care about us, that's all that matters" Mikey said cheerfully, "and that means the dreams can live on."
Hearing this, the two older brothers believed that overall their baby brother would be alright, but there were still things they needed to apologize to him for.
"Mikey, sorry for what I said on the plane, on our way home…" Leo trailed off, ashamed at what he said to his brother.
Mikey titled his head in confusion.
"Ohhhhh!" he said with wide eyes, "you mean 'you're all heart and no brains'" he said with a grumpy face and in a low voice as a means to mock Leonardo.
"Yeah, that" Leo sighed.
"Uh, I wanna apologize to, for saying that you didn't work hard enough on our mission" Raph said as he rubbed the back of his head, also feeling ashamed at how he had downed his brother.
Mikey had returned to looking confused.
"Ummmm, you guys insult me all the time. Why are you apologizing for it now?"
"Because we took it too far this time" Raph said.
"And it only made everything way worse than it already was" Leo added.
Mikey chuckled as he spoke.
"You guys are only saying that because of how dramatic everything has been lately. You guys realize you have said wayyyyy worse things to me in the past, right?"
Both the older brothers felt a slight blush come across their cheeks. Had they really been that harsh towards their baby brother?
"Well, we'll watch ourselves from now on, okay?" Leo asked gently.
Mikey rapidly shook his head. "Dudes, no way! Don't change the way things are! Like, we live in this weird cycle where I annoy you with pranks, and so you guys fight me as payback, then I joke around during training to piss you off for fighting back, then you kick my ass. Like it's just normal at this point."
"And that's a good thing?" Raph asked.
"Yes! It's what we do! That's how older brothers and younger brothers get along! Sam said she was the same way with her siblings all the time."
The two older brothers pat their youngest brother on the back as they began to stand up. As silly and dorky as Mikey could be, moments like this truly displayed how mature he truly could be. More than anything they were just happy to see that their brother was alright and was not truly hurting from anything that was said to him.
At the same time, hearing Sam's name made the oldest two realize that there were still others they needed to apologize to.
"Wait" Mikey said as he stood up, stopping his brothers before they could leave the room.
Raph shut the door that he had just opened, and both brothers turned back around so that they were facing their youngest brother once again.
Michelangelo began to fidget with his fingers as he talked.
"Sorry for not trying to see things your way about bringing Sam with us on missions. Just…she's freaking awesome man, and she's one of the greatest fighting partners anyone could ever ask for. I thought she was ready and that we were ready to bring her with us…but, I don't want to lose her…" his voice trailed off, the sorrow in his tone matching the sorrowful thoughts in his mind as he spoke.
Leo walked forward and stood in front of his brother. He placed his hand on his youngest brother's shoulder, which gained the youngest brother's attention and guided him to look up at his oldest brother.
"Hey, the important thing is that she made it back. We found her and we brought her home-"
"Yeah but what if we didn't? What if we couldn't save her? I mean I obviously am no help since I couldn't even protect my own brothers" Mikey said as he pulled away from his brother's grasp and walked over towards the opposite side of the room, continue to fidget with his fingers as he did so.
"Mikey I never should have told you that" Raph stated.
"Why? It's true right? I blew it and we could have lost people because of it-"
"BUT WE DIDN'T" Leo stated firmly. "You made mistakes, hell we've all been making poor choices around here lately. But we ALL made it back, and that means we all get a second chance."
Mikey caught his breath, not realizing how choked up he had gotten, and then nodded his head towards his brothers.
"Got it…thanks guys" Mikey replied, swinging his arms forward and back as a means to help calm himself down.
Leo and Raph both walked over as they participated in giving their brother the typical bro hug.
"So now are you officially good?" Raph asked, teasing his brother.
Mikey nodded, a genuine smile reappearing on his face.
"Yeah, I think so."
"You coming with us to talk to Donnie?" Leo asked.
"Ummmmm nah, I'll talk to him later. Right now I'm just gonna chill here."
Leo and Raph both shot each other a questioning yet joking look before they continued to exit the room.
"Don't worry Mikey, she'll be in here soon" Leo teased.
"Hehe…what?" Mikey nervously chuckled.
"Bye baby brother" Raph said with a devilish smile as he shut the door behind him as he left the room.
Leo and Raph both shook their heads as they walked away towards the lab.
"Does he think we're stupid and don't realize that he's waiting for Sam to come visit him?" Raph teased.
"Nah, you know he plays dumb when he gets nervous" Leo replied with a smile.
"Wow, he must be nervous all the time then" Raph mocked.
Leo scoffed at his brother and playfully slapped him on the back of the head. This then lead the two to playfully fight each other the rest of the time it took them to walk to Donnie's lab.
It felt nice that things were slowly beginning to return back to normal.
I apologize if this chapter seems short and rushed. Honestly, I've been wanting to write for over a month (maybe it's been two, like idek at this point) and I've had so much work to do that it's been impossible for me to update the story
The life of teacher majors man, it's crazy stuff. -_- /O.o\
So I wanted to update at least something in case I disappear because for the next moth I'll be taking two summer courses while also working while also attending family and friend events on the weekends. Like it's going to be a fun summer for me, I know that, but I want to write this story to the point that it makes me upset when I can't. Like this fic is my guilty pleasure and it sucks when I can't update anything at all for months.
BUT I finally was able to add a little something. I basically broke this chapter into two halves so I could update something before I head back. Thank you to any and all who have continued to read my story even though I've disappeared for so long. Again, I promise this story has a lot that will be added over time to it, and I hope you all continue to enjoy the crazy roller coaster of events that the characters will experience.