HELLO!

Yep, I sort of abandoned all of you for, what, two-three months? Oopsie daisy!

Yeah, sorry about that, I've was unexpectedly busy for a few weeks, and then after that I couldn't find my muse for writing this. I didn't want to force out a poorly written chapter, so I ended up taking a little tiny break, but look! I've come bearing gifts of words and the FINAL CHAPTER!

GASP!

Hope you all enjoy :)

(Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything relating to any part of the franchise.)

Somewhere in the midst of Leo's foggy mind, he wonders how lucky they must be at that moment. A loud slam sounds off, echoing down to him and his younger brother who had both taken to trying to find a way out of the mess. It seems they didn't really need to.

As the severed head of the footbot falls down towards them, shortly followed by the body sparking at the nape of its neck, Leo almost forgets about the quivering of his arms as he held on for dear life.

"Leo!" a voice that feels like a cool glass of water on a hot day yells, "Raph!"

And Raph seems to read Leo's mind and responds for the completely spent turtle, "Donnie, we're down here!"

"Yeah." he says, voice sounding apprehensive as he gleams over the stair overhead. His purple mask hangs past his face, "I can kinda see that. Just hang on, Master Spliter and I will get you up in a giffy!"

The rest fades into a blur for Leo. He can hear Raph calling things to Donnie and Sensei, and somewhere in the back of his mind he also catches his brother speaking to him. Though, he can't concentrate on the words all too well, he opens the bleary eyes he hadn't even realized he shut and stares at him, focusing to the best of his ability.

"Just hang on, Leo." he says, concern coursing through his green eyes, "Don's gonna get this done, then we'll finally go home, 'kay?"

And he wants to chastise Raph, because of course he's going to hang on. Of course he's not going to fall, and that's obviously because if he does, then Raph ultimately will as well. He's balancing his buff brother out; keeping him from falling just as he is himself. If one of them fails, the other will perish with him.

If he's learned anything from leading his three brother's through trialling missions, it's that he has to depend on them just as much as they do him. So, simply put, there's no way in Hell he's letting go of this rope.

More footbots end up falling down towards him, causing his younger brother to curse loudly when pieces rain down on his head. Leo holds his breath, praying that nothing hits him and knocks him off his end of rope.

The rattling in his chest that had been insistent from the very beginning seems to come back with a passion at that moment, forcing him to wince outwardly and slip. He grabs hold, harder, feeling like the bones in his hands were going to snap by how resilient his hold was.

He hears Raph's voice suddenly spike as he closes in around the rope once more. Try as he might, he can't hear the words exactly.

"—urry up would ya?" Raph's voice cuts through, sounding none too happy, and the next thing Leo knows is the feeling like he's being elevated. Not with hands, but just the air around him feeling different.

His mind swims in a dark cavern, eyes sealed shut, as the passed day's events weigh down on him. He feels . . . exhausted. Completely and utterly finished. His chest rattles on, a feeling like his chest being filled with water, and a harsh beating pulse in his head. Every thrum slamming against his skull almost in unison with every other ache running across his body.

All he wants to do is sleep. Forever, maybe. At least at this point he does.

Only when hands are grabbing at him, first three fingered, then four fingered with claws, hoisting him up while talking to someone —probably Raph— does he let himself finally succumb to the darkness trying to pull him under.

The walk back to the lair was not exactly taxing for the remaining three conscious mutants.

After having a relieving reunion with a catatonic Leo passed out in their father's arms, Raph insisted that they make it home immediately, saying how there was something very wrong with the older brother. And neither his father, nor Donnie could protest to that and began walking back.

"I just informed Mikey, April, and Casey that we found them." Donnie says only just a minute after they start their journey. It's directed at their father who nods with a simple tip of his head.

Leo's slung onto Splinter's back, arms hanging down their father's chest and eyes sealed closed in something resembling sleep, and Raph only catches a glimpse of him before Donnie's talking again, this time to him, "I'm going to have you explain everything that happened once we get back, Raph. April told us about the explosion to the best of her ability, but I'm still intent on hearing everything from you, too."

If Raph grumbles, he doesn't allow it to be very loud.

He's fairly certain that they were all completely panicking during this whole event. Maybe just as much as them, less, or even more so. He knows, had he been the ones searching for his family, he'd want to trade places with them in an instant and would if given the choice.

Some bit of him feels guilty at having put his father, brothers, and friends through this, but at the same time he just feels completely thankful they found them when they did.

"Yeah, I'll tell ya." Raph says, "And then I'm going to take a hot shower, and a nap."

Donnie smiles slightly at that, "First I'm going to check you over, right after I'm done with Leo."

And then Raph's sinking back into his feeling of unease, eyes quickly glancing at his prone brother, and he notices how Splinter catches him looking, a solemn expression on his own face.

And he knows that their father, even for being such a quiet man at the moment, must be dying inside just as much as him.

Raph hates it.

The rest of the walk is filled with Donnie's chatter about random events during their searching, and Raph can't force himself to listen to all of it despite actually being interested in what he's saying. The walk, finally safe with his family, makes him realize just how bone tired he is.

Apparently it wasn't just Leo who felt completely worn out.

Finally getting to the lair is interesting. April comes charging at them right away, practically tackling Raph to the ground when she wrenches her arms around his neck, pulling him into what, at first, feels like a death lock.

After a moment, Raph realizes it's a hug. Passionate, and tender. April holds him like that while Donnie explains to their father where to put Leo and everything related to that. He sees Mikey coming his way, too. And he also sees how his younger brother watches Leo and their father, anxiousness swarming his entire being as obvious as he is green.

April's face come to meet his, then, her pushing him an arm's length away with a firm hold on his shoulders, "Don't you ever do that again."

And he isn't too sure how to respond to that. Sorry? Won't happen again? Butt out, April? But, he's joined by his brother and Casey at that point, and begins getting bombarded by questions of his well being, and what had happened. He feels like he should be sensitive. After all, hadn't he thought not too long ago that he'd rather be in his own position than the ones his family and friends were in? Shouldn't he feel bad?

Yeah, probably, but he doesn't at that moment.

"Leave me be, guys." is all he says, pushing past them a lot gentler than he would otherwise in a different situation. They don't protest, but he knows they watch him as he heads for his room. Eyes trailing his every movement as he tries to hide the ache riddling his body, and the exhaustion peaking at every muscle.

Don't lab is still open when he walks by, and he finds himself looking inside, stopping completely in his tracks when he catches sight of the forms inside.

Don, hovering over Leo who's laying flat out on one of the tables inside. His father is standing nearby as well, and Raph has to stop himself from walking inside. He's done everything he can. He got his brother out, even if he needed a little help. Leo's alive.

He's done his job.

Now, he'd only be in the way, and so he continues his journey to his room.

At some point, completely without his permission, Raph completely passes out on his bedroom floor. He's half leaning up against his bed, and he feels the stiffness in his every movement when he finally comes back to the world.

Hadn't he been doing something?

Apparently not, since he felt that he was meant to be taking a nap.

A pounding sounds of on the door. Not a pounding, more like a hesitant tapping before Don's voice echoes in through it, "Raph, you there?"

"Yeah." he answers hoarsely, rising to his feet while his completely useless arm hangs at his side.

Opening the door, he finds his brother standing there, posture a bit tense as though he's expecting Raph to pounce on him or something, but he doesn't. He just quirks an eye ridge, leaning against his doorframe, "My turn, Doctor Donnie?"

"Well, to be precise, it's been your turn for well over three hours, but I felt like I could leave you alone a while longer."

The news is a bit surprising, but Raph feels himself slip out of his room the rest of the way and decides not to comment. He follows Don to his lab, noticing how no one else was in any part of the lair whatsoever, "Where is everyone?"

"Asleep." Don answers simply, "They didn't quite want to, but since it's 3 a.m. they didn't have much of a choice in the end. April was forced to come home by her dad. Same with Casey. And, Mikey passed out in my lab some time ago."

Raoh hums to himself, walking into Donnie's lab right behind him. Long and behold, Mikey's over in the corner drooling over one of the desks. Don cringes with a roll of his eyes, and motions for Raph to sit at a table far from the lightly snoring Mikey.

Raph does, and he waits patiently for Donnie to gather all of his things before coming to join him at the table, toolbox in hand filled with a variety of medical supplies.

"Your arm's hurt." he says immediately, and Raph blinks at how certain he sounds.

"How did you —"

"You weren't even moving it the entire way back, and even on the way here to my lab." Don explains, digging into his medical supplies, "That's unlike you. So, something was bound to be wrong."

And Raph feels somewhat delighted at his brother's observation of him, a small smile peeking at his lips.

Only when Don starts tending to his arm does Raph decide to speak about the thing truly bothering him. Vaguely registering the winding of the gauze on his arm, and the splint being forced into place, Raph asks, "How's Leo?"

Don immediately goes rigid, relaxing after a short moment and humming to himself, searching for an answer, "Not . . . very good."

"What do ya mean?" Raph presses, feeling like a cold hand was seizing hold on his heart. They were home. Leo was going to be fine. He was going to be sparring with him like normal here in a few days, "Where's he?"

Don sighs, pulling the gauze a little tighter, "He's with Master Splinter in the dojo having a healing session." he explains, something troubling him in his eyes, "He's going to be fine, Raph. Just . . . he was worse than I thought he'd be. I'm honestly amazed he was still somewhat conscious by the time we arrived."

Forcing himself to find out, because inside he knew that he had to know — he had to figure out what Leo was going through down there all that time — Raph forced out the question that had been eating him up for the past few days, "What was wrong with 'im?"

And Don suddenly become very, very still. Something that makes Raph's whole being freeze. Slowly, his brother returns to binding his arm, "Well, it's a little hard to explain . . ."

"I'm open to listening at the moment, Don."

With a sigh, Don begins, "There were the obvious things: bruising, cuts. That sort of thing. But, that's where it gets a little more . . . serious." he clears his throat, ripping the gauze in hand and securing it with a piece of medical tape to ensure it doesn't unravel, "There was trauma to his head. A concussion from what was most likely a fall, based off of what I currently know about the situation." he gives Raph a meaningful look, "Some fractures across various bones. His shin, upper arm. It would've been a similar feeling to how your arm was."

Raph exhales sharply at that, running a gentle finger up the gauze wrapped around his arm. This is what Leo had? He asks himself, picturing what he'd be like with multiple versions of his arm across his body, "Is that it?"

"No." the answer is immediate, and Rap feels like sinking a little into his shell at the look emanating off of Don's face as he digs into his medical supplies some more, "There were internal contusions, as far as I can tell. His shell, as you probably know, was cracked severely in both the front and back, and his spine, as a result, suffered damage. None too serious, but definitely not ignorable." Raph swallows thickly as he remembers his attempts at keeping Leo's shell from worsening. Their two masks ties together in a lousy attempt. He huffs at himself, wishing he could have done more.

"And then, there's the . . . collapsed lung." Don seems hesitant about saying it, brown eyes finding his and holding his gaze for the first time since he began speaking about their oldest brother, "The fall he took cracked his rib cage, despite his shell's protection. After so many impacts, the bone . . ."

He stops suddenly, perking up at Raph with eyes full of concern, "Are you okay, Raph?"

And he isn't so sure, but he knows he must be as white as a ghost at the moment. He can feel the chill running through his body as his younger brother speaks, and even now he feels like he might throw up. Is that an appropriate response?

Maybe.

"I, uh, can stop . . . if you want."

Now it's Raph who answers immediately with, "No." Certain he wants to know. He wants to understand. Not knowing would make him feel a lot worse in the long run anyways, "Keep going."

Hesitantly, Don does, "The bone tore through one of his lungs, collapsing it. It isn't necessarily life threatening with treatment, but it definitely isn't a good thing.

"Symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing—" Raph remembers the way Leo would always pause in his sentences every few words, and the coughing fits he would have every once and awhile, he feels himself grow paler, " — lightheadedness, fainting, fatigue. Things such as that, so it's no wonder he was out of it when we got to him, with everything else included."

And Raph feels himself nod numbly, agreeing in silence as he processes what's been told.

Leo had been walking around in the sewers — the cold and frigid sewers of New York — with all of that? How in the shell did he manage that? And, he managed to offer concern for him when they were about to climb a freaking ladder? Had he known, he might have done something different. He would have figured out different way of getting closer to the surface. He would have thought more. He would have planned something that would have gotten Leo out faster and safer.

A light touch to the side of his head startles Raph, and at first he believes it to be Donnie, fretting over him about some other injury, and he moves to brush away the hand. But, he stops, realizing Don's hands are both at his sides, and that he didn't magically sprout some third hand out of thin air . . . right?

"You are hurt, too, Raphael."

And he jumps, knowing all too well their father's ability to sneak up on unsuspecting people. Splinter moves his hand away at the action, smiling softly at the sight of his returned son.

Raph takes a deep breath, offering their father a level stare as he reestablishes himself, "No." he disagrees, "I mean, not really."

"Comparing one's wounds with another is unfair, my son." Splinter says, "Leonardo may be wounded, too. More severely, but that does not make your injuries meaningless."

And he shrugs slightly, not offering any objections, "How's Leo?"

"Your brother will be perfectly fine, Raphael." the older rat assures, resting a soft hand on his son's shoulder, "He is strong. He will recover with time. Rest easy, you've earned it."

Raph can't help but snort at that, causing Splinter to quirk an eyebrow in question, "With all do respect, Sensei, I don't feel like I've earned anythin'."

"How might that be?" he asks in return, and Raph can see Donnie's eyes on him just as Splinter's are. Confused. Concerned. Tired.

And Raph sighs, tenderly towards them, but harshly towards himself, "I didn't do anythin' to help Leo, Sensei. I just . . . let 'im hurt down there, and couldn't do nothin' to put a stop to it."

"Everyone had their strong suites." Splinter offers immediately, knowing full well that this is the mindset of the second oldest brother, and feels his heart reach out to him for his modest thoughts. Too modest, "You are not the only one with a lack of knowledge in medical practices. Michaelangelo's gift is the ability to connect with almost anyone, Donatello's is in the scientific arts, Leonardo's is in leading and tactical practices, and yours is to protect whatever the cost.

"It is not shameful to not have been able to do something, Raphael, because you did do something." Splinter smiles warmly at his son in the darkened lab, feeling a tenderness for the worn out green eyes, and the taught face looking apprehensive still, "You lead when Leonardo couldn't. You protected your brother in his darkest time, and you brought him back to us."

Raph forces his eyes to look away from his father's, biting his lip as his father speaks. And then the hand on his shoulder squeezes softly, and he finds himself looking back to his father as he says seven simple words.

"I am proud of you, my son."

And he feels himself crumble then, a tightness forming in his throat, but he shoos it away stubbornly. With a returning smile, Raph says, "I'm glad to be home, father."

"And I am glad to have you back." he says, releasing his son's shoulder, "Rest, Raphael. You have earned it."

The quick patching up of the rest of his wounds, and a hasty washing of the muck still covering his body seem to take forever, because right when Raph's head hits his pillow, he takes his father's advice, and dissolves into the dark realm of sleep.

When he wakes, Raph is forced into a detailed account of their every venture from down in the sewers. He may or may not skip over a lot of the details. For instance, his complete panic attack when Leo had fainted . . . yeah, he doesn't even hint at that. Definitely not that.

Still, he's pretty much completely accurate, choosing to skip on the more . . . gritty moments. He doesn't quite want to think of any of it, but definitely not those moments when he actually felt a little hopeless.

He swallows thickly once he's done, "Why exactly do you need to know all of this?"

And Don doesn't exactly offer a great answer, choosing to say it's for data or something. Raph doesn't try to hard to figure out what he means by that, and instead stands to depart, much too . . . done. Even for it being in the morning.

Actually, it's mid-day. He completely slept for the better part of the next day, sprawled out on his bed in soft heaven.

No regrets.

When he leaves the lab, the doors screeching as they roll back into place behind him, he's a little startled to see a green head poking out from on the couch in front of him.

Mikey is his first thought, and out of pure curiosity he approaches the form to see what they could possibly be watching on the television. Probably Krognard or some other crazy show he's found.

"Yo, Mikey." He calls, crossing his arms as he cranes his neck to see his younger brother, "What you watchin'?"

The head turns, and Raph feels himself freeze as two, wide blue eyes find his. Not Mikey's blue eyes, but the deep, darker blue of his older brother."

"Leo." he breathes, sagging slightly at the relief of seeing his brother up . . . sort of. Leo's sitting on the couch, one leg propped up with a pillow or two, and several blankets cocooning him in, which look to have been discarded by the turtle at some point.

Leo blinks, letting a small smile spread on his face, "Hey."

"Hey." Raph greets back, "How're you, uh . . . feelin'?"

Leo lets out a breathy sigh, "Tired."

"Yeah." Raph laughs a little, "I wonder why."

Leo turns away, and Raph takes it upon himself to hurdle onto the couch beside him, "Where's Splinter at?"

"Resting." Leo says simply, and when Raph gets a good look at him, completely void of his mask and leaning heavily into the couch, he can see exactly how worn he looks, "Apparently, he stayed up all night healing me." he grunts, "I don't remember really . . . anything."

Raph smiles when he hears how his older brother strings together a sentence after what seemed like forever. He had thought Leo'd never be able to do it again, but apparently his worries were completely worthless.

"How's your arm?" Leo asks, trying to reach for the remote a little ways away from him while he lets the question sit, "Did Don take care of it?"

Raph blinks as Leo completely fails at getting the remote, sort of amazed, but also feeling some kind of warmth at his stubborn attempts. He reaches forwards himself, grasping the remote in his hand, snorting at the pout Leo offers in response, "Yeah, last night. On the way to getting better already, eh?"

"Hopefully."

And Raph should be saying something about Leo's actions. He had promised himself he would. He swore once they were both safe, and Leo was more coherent, he'd definitely speak his mind about how stupid Leo's actions were. He got himself blown up after all!

And he supposes that, instead of rubbing a thumb over the buttons in the controller in his hand, he should be talking to him about everything that happened. He should bring up the wounds Leo sustained. He should speak about how goddamn worried he was. He should fess up his mind.

But, no.

He doesn't.

Splinter's in the other room, sleeping. Donnie's in his lab twiddling with things. April and Casey are probably on their way any minute, and Mikey's going to come bounding in with that annoying smile he always has.

So, for the time being Raph decides the chastising can wait. The lecturing and name calling can be put on hold.

Now he can just sit there with his older brother in the rare peace of the lair. In the safety of home.

"What're you going to put on?" Leo asks quietly, glancing with those big blue eyes at his younger brother.

And Raph feels a smile stretch across his face, "Space Heroes, of course."

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, or followed this either while I was writing this or long after I'm done.

Even though there was a long wait for a certain chapter *ahem* I hope you all enjoyed!

Adios!