It's about time, right?

TMNT

Mikey and his brother stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Raph finally broke the silence. "You're… alright?" he whispered. That was all the prompting Mikey needed. He ran forward as fast as his weary legs would carry him and threw his arms around his older brother.

"Raph… you're okay!" Mikey was slightly surprised to feel Raph hugging him back just as fiercely, but he didn't dwell on the thought for long. "Where's Donny and Master Splinter?" he asked, finally pulling away and wiping the tears from his face.

"Don's right behind me, and Master Splinter's still out looking for you," the hot-headed turtle answered, swiping at his wet cheeks in annoyance. Under normal circumstances Mikey wouldn't have missed the opportunity to rib his macho brother about his tears, but he was too happy to see his brother alive and well. "Yo, Don! They're here, they're okay!" Mikey heard a strangled gasp from just around the corner of the alley before the brainy turtle skidded to a stop in the opening.

"M-Mikey?" Don's tired face split into a wide grin as he stared at his brother. His smile faded a little as he looked around, though. "Wh… where's Leo?" Mikey's head immediately whirled around toward the battle shell, where he had last seen his brother.

"Le… o?" The oldest turtle was sitting in the alley, leaning against the side of the battle shell. His eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy and uneven. Mikey was by his brother's side in a flash, his unmasked brow creased in concern.

"What happened?" Don asked, also falling to his knees beside his older brother.

"A lot…. I think he's sick, Donny." The brainiac had already located the nasty wound on Leo's leg and was untying the masks. Don sucked in a shocked breath at the sight of the gash.

"He was walking around in the sewer with this?" he asked incredulously. Mikey nodded miserably.

"I did all I could. It wasn't much," Mikey said, pointing at the filthy masks.

"You did good, Mikey," Raph murmured from somewhere behind them. Don continued to look Leo over.

"Is there anything else?"

"I think he swallowed a lot of sewer water, but I don't think he's hurt anywhere else." Don continued to look Leo over, running his hands over his limbs and plastron. When he came to his hands, he stopped.

"His hands are burned." The statement took Mikey off-guard, but after a moment he realized what it meant.

"Oh." Don looked up at him, confusion written all over his face. "He, uh…."

"He what, Mikey," Raph prodded from behind him. His voice lacked his usual impatience, and almost sounded gentle.

"He ran into a burning building to save a little kid."

"He what?" That time Raph sounded like himself.

Donatello rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. "He would, wouldn't he? Raph, help me get him inside the Battle Shell." Raph grunted and helped lift their unconscious leader off the pavement. They carefully carried him into the vehicle and laid him on the emergency examination table in the back. Don immediately set to work cleaning out the wound on Leo's leg.

Mikey sat down in one of the chairs, suddenly feeling irresistibly sleepy. He rubbed at his eyes with a grimy hand, wincing as a spike of pain shot through his skull. He let his hand fall away from his face but didn't open his eyes. The urge to sleep grew stronger, and he gave in.

TMNT

"Mikey." Raph's gruff voice broke him from his half-asleep state. He opened his eyes a crack, trying to focus on his brother's face.

"Hm?" he mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"Stay awake, buddy. Just a little longer. Don wants me to check you over for any injuries. He thinks you have a concussion."

"Think so… too…." Mikey's voice sounded distorted to his own ears as his eyes drifted closed again.

"Look Mikey. I know you want to sleep, but you can't okay? Just open your eyes, focus on me, okay?" Mikey tried, he really did, but he couldn't force his eyes open.

"Later…."

"Focus on Leo. He needs you to stay awake, Mikey." Raph pleaded, giving his shoulder a gentle shake.

"Leo…."

"Yeah, Leo. Come on Mikey. Open your eyes for Leo." Mikey sighed, forcing his eyes open a crack. "Good. Now look at Leo. Watch Leo while I check your head." The youngest turtle tried his hardest to focus on Leonardo. Don was still bent over him, apparently stitching up his shin. Leo was shaking, and the sound of his labored breathing grated on Mikey's ears.

"Leo…."

"He'll be alright, Mikey. Just stay awake. Aw, shell! Don!"

"What's wrong, Raph?"

"Mikey's got a knot on his head the size of a softball." His brothers' words started to fade, and Mikey's eyes swam even more out of focus.

"A knot's good. It means the swelling isn't putting pressure on his brain." Raphael's reply was lost to Mikey as his eyes closed once more.

TMNT

"Michelangelo. My son, it is time to wake up." Michelangelo moaned, trying to roll away from the voice. A second moan quickly followed when the dull throbbing behind his eyes spiked sharply. "Michelangelo." Mikey forced his eyes open again, blinking groggily.

"What?" he slurred, wishing he could just go back to sleep.

"Donatello says it is not wise to let you sleep for too long. Leonardo is asking for you." Mikey finally managed to focus on the source of the voice, and he was surprised to see Master Splinter standing next to him. "Do you feel up to going to him?" Mikey nodded, still trying to work out where he was.

Master Splinter helped Mikey to his feet, and the youngest turtle leaned on him gratefully. He felt so tired… and he couldn't remember why. Had it been a long training session, or a fight with the Shredder and half the Foot, or…. As soon as Mikey's eyes fell on his oldest brother the memories came rushing back. He remembered being shaken awake by his bed, getting trapped in the sewers, walking for hours out in the streets. And he remembered Leo getting sicker and sicker the whole time.

Now Leonardo was lying on the exam table, covered in blankets but still shivering violently. His eyes were partially open, though, and that was all that Mikey saw. "Mikey. Are you okay?" an unfamiliar voice questioned. Mikey's eyes drifted shut for a second before snapping open when he realized the voice came from his brother. "Mikey?" Leo's voice was hoarse and barely more than a whisper, but this time there was no mistaking it was his.

"Sure thing, bro. I just hit my head or… something. How 'bout you?" Mikey's voice was still slightly slurred with sleep, but he realized that he could hear better than he could a while ago.

"I'm good, Mikey. Just… cold. Glad you're… okay…."

Don came into the Battle Shell, a slightly annoyed expression on his face. "You shouldn't be up, Mikey. And you shouldn't be talking, Leo. You guys need to rest." Mikey noted how weary his brainy brother seemed to be and had the fleeting feeling that he should apologize.

"Leonardo wished to see his brother. I did not think there would be any harm," Master Splinter replied.

Don sighed. "No, I guess not. But Mikey should go back to sleep. We have to wake him in an hour, anyway."

"Of course, my son."

Mikey allowed himself to be led away, but kept his eyes on his brother as long as he could. He was asleep almost before he was back in his chair.

TMNT

It seemed like forever before Mikey was aware of himself again. When he came to, his first thought was that he was warm. Warm and comfortable, and the pain wasn't as bad as it was before. He kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of what had to be mountains of blankets on top of him.

He had begun to doze off again when he heard someone sit down next to him. He turned his head toward the noise, and almost fell out of his bed onto the floor below. A strong hand steadied him, however, and his eyes opened slowly.

He had to blink several times to clear his blurry vision before he was able to make out the form of Casey Jones sitting next to his bedside. "Huh, Casey? What are you doing here?"

Casey grinned widely. "Mikey, you're awake! You scared us pretty bad, dude. We couldn't get you to wake up there for a while."

Mikey frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? I was just taking a nap," he mumbled.

Concern instantly filled Casey's eyes. "Wait, do you remember anything? The earthquake, being trapped in the sewers… anything?"

Mikey thought hard for a moment, not coming up with anything. He was about to ask what in the world Casey was on when memories suddenly began to flood his mind. "Wait…. I kinda remember walking around in the sewer for a long time, and… oh my gosh! You're okay! I thought you were dead!" Mikey tried to sit up, but his spun and he fell back on his pillow.

"I'm fine, Mikey. So's April. We found you guys not long after you and Leo showed up at the Battle Shell, apparently." Casey smiled in relief.

"And Leo? How's Leo? Where is he? Where am I, for that matter?" Mikey asked hurriedly.

Casey chuckled. "Leo's doing okay. He's still got a fever, but it's not as high as it was and Don says it should break soon. He's in the other room with Raph. We're at the farm house; we managed to get out of the city with everyone and the old place is still standing. We'll probably be here for a while," Casey explained, frowning a little.

"Oh." Mikey looked around him, glad to be away from the chaos of the city. "How long has it been?"

"Well, we've been here for two days. It's been almost three since the earthquake hit."

Mikey whistled softly. "So I've been out for two days?"

Casey nodded and said, "You scared the crap out of Don, dude. He was afraid for a while that you'd slipped into a coma. But you woke up a little bit early this morning and he says you'll be fine now, as soon as the headache passes."

"Yeah, can't wait for that," Mikey said wryly. A long moment of silence passed between them. "So… everyone's really okay?"

Casey smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, somehow we all managed to make it. I'm not really sure how, considering. A lot of people died." Mikey stared at the floor, his eyes beginning to feel heavy again. "Get some more sleep, man. Don says you can sleep as much as you want now." Mikey didn't reply, grateful to finally be able to sleep in peace.

TMNT

Wow, this has long been in the working, and I'm glad to have finally found the inspiration to finish this last chapter. A HUGE thank you to everyone who actually read this! I am beginning to think about a couple sequels, which are still loosely developed and probably wouldn't be posted for a long time. Let me know what you think of the ideas:

Earthquake: Topside

This would be another four-chapter story detailing Raphael and Donatello's experiences during the earthquake. It could provide a little more detail and some insight into what happened after the turtles were reunited; I realize that was a little fuzzy, as poor Mikey's head was a lot fuzzy.

Earthquake: Aftershock

This one is more of a vague idea, but I'm just as hopeful about it. It would pick up where this one left one, detailing the turtles' recovery, and their time spent at the farmhouse while New York tries to rebuild.

Again, thank you SO much to everyone who remained loyal through the… holy crap! Fifteen month break. Wow, sorry about that. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think about the sequel ideas!