*Hello again, my friends, and welcome to a decidely different journey. I've delved into the past a couple of times now, but this story is going to serve as a bridge for two of my early fics. I feel like the boys did a lot of changing in the gap between "Broken" and "Sacrifice", and Bonds will kind of fill in some of that.

I think there are a number of reasons that this was the chosen time for me to write the bridge. I wanted to work with Splinter again, and I never explored very much of a younger Leonardo and Raphael's relationship.

On top of that, I can admit that my experiences with my father and his illness over the last year and a half influenced this story too. When the chips are down, that's when you discover what people are really made of, and who will always be there for you. With those words, this fic is dedicated to my step mom and step sister. We're not related by blood, but I'll never forget their outpouring of love and support for my dad over the course of his sickness. Never.

For point of reference, the boys begin this story in their early twenties. I do not own the TMNT, but it's my pleasure to play in their world, and share it with you. Thanks for reading.

Leonardo couldn't sleep. It wasn't for a lack of trying; the blue-masked turtle had attempted to shut down his mind for over two hours without success. He opened dark eyes to stare at the ceiling and sighed heavily. I can't keep lying here.

He could hear his brother's soft snoring from the bunk beneath him, and had no wish to wake up Raphael. Leonardo carefully worked his way over the side of the bed and dropped silently to the floor. He gazed at his red-masked brother for a moment, and then continued out of their bedroom.

In the hall, he hesitated outside of Don and Mike's room, listening. When Leonardo didn't hear anything, he was immediately grateful. With the mysterious illness their Sensei had suffered under for months, it was easy for the docs to overreact to the flu-like symptoms Donatello had come down with about a week before. But Don sounds a lot better than he did, and this is the second night in a row I haven't heard him coughing.

Leonardo kept going, trotting down the stairs into the darkened living area. Their normal night-light cast a faint glow from an outlet near the kitchen, but more light was also spilling into the room from underneath the door. Someone must have left the light on again. What good does it do to tell anyone—

The sound of breaking glass cut off the thought in an instant, and Leo dashed through the kitchen door. He gaped in surprise when he found his Sensei clinging to the kitchen counter for dear life, struggling to keep his balance on a stool. The shattered remains of a tea-cup littered the kitchen floor, and another was lying cracked on the countertop.

"Master!" The blue-masked turtle hurried to help him down from his perch, but Splinter resisted his aid.

"I am perfectly all right, my son."

"It doesn't look like it, Sensei."

The rat grunted his disapproval under his breath. "If you would give me some space, I will come down myself."

"Master, are you sure—"

Splinter straightened upright and stiffly turned around to face the turtle. "Leonardo, if I need your help, I will ask for it."

The frustrated undercurrent in his Master's tone was unusual to hear, and it disturbed Leonardo more than he cared to admit. "Sensei, why don't you stay there for a minute while I sweep up some of the glass?" Leo suggested, stalling for time.

Onyx eyes probed him suspiciously, but Splinter leaned against the counter to wait while Leonardo grabbed a broom from the corner.

The turtle attempted to appear nonchalant as he swept up the pieces of the cup, but in the silence that lingered in the air, he could hear the raspy quality of his Sensei's breathing. Splinter's strange condition had begun in the late winter, with what their docs had diagnosed as a bad case of pneumonia. But rather than improving with the passage of time, his breathing seemed to be getting worse. When Leonardo chanced a glance up at Splinter, he was captured by how much his father appeared to have aged in a span of a few months.

"Leonardo, why are you not asleep?"

Even now, he's trying to deflect me from worrying about him.

"I tried, Master," he replied honestly. "I just couldn't." Leonardo tried to swallow his concern as Splinter gingerly climbed down from the stool and shuffled toward the table.

The rat pointed at the kettle on the stove behind them. "Would you mind finishing, Leonardo, since I am incapable of doing anything for myself?"

Despite the bitterness in Splinter's words, Leonardo moved to obey. "Don't worry about the tea cups, Sensei," he said as lightly as possible. "We know they're replaceable. How many have Raph and Mike broken over the years?"

Splinter didn't answer right away, collapsing into a chair first. "The glass trinkets are not what concerns me, my son. That I could nearly fall in doing nothing more than trying to climb a couple of steps is what burdens me. I am tired – too tired."

Leonardo sniffed the steeping herbs, breathing in their fragrance. "Then you should rest, Father. But tea would be a very good idea first."

"For you as well, Leonardo. Would you bring the cups and come sit down?"

The blue-masked turtle stretched to retrieve two more tea cups to fill, and brought them over to the table. "Did you know I was coming?"

Splinter shook his head. "No. One cup was merely stacked with another when I dropped them both." He cleared his throat painfully. "How was Donatello today?"

"He sounds better, Sensei. He said he's feeling better too."

"Good, that is good. I trust you will not allow him to work too hard in the meantime."

Leo laughed awkwardly. "No, Master. Doc and Marc have helped us keep an eye on him. Don hasn't been doing any training, and we barred the door to the lab."

Splinter's whiskers twitched thoughtfully. "Humph. That should probably be done more often."

Leonardo blew on the steam rising from his cup and stared down at his tea. "We were all worried when Don started coming down with something, but it turned out to be pretty minor. The extra rest certainly didn't hurt him. He'd probably live in the lab if we let him."

The rat's chuckle sounded raspy. "I am glad you are here to look after things, my son."

"We've all been trying to keep up with everything like normal," Leo said quickly. "Most days Mikey even trains without a fight." The joke seemed to fall flat, but it at least earned another smile from Splinter.

"You must find some way to keep Dr. Barrows busy as well. I am not sure what the man would do with himself if he didn't have the four of you to take care of."

The turtle shook his head. "Oh, he's been busy, Sensei. Doc's been working the graveyard in the ER every other night for the last three weeks. There have been so many new cases of the swine flu, the normal staff is having a hard time keeping up."

"I see. So that is the reason that Dr. Barrows has been hovering less. I believed that he might have finally been easing up on me."

Leo gazed at Splinter mutely. It doesn't seem like anyone should ease up on you. Just the opposite. He swirled around the tea in his cup and took a careful sip. "Doc's still been here during the day. I don't think he does anything at home except sleep."

"He will make himself ill if he continues to behave that way. You must try to make him see reason, my son."

Leonardo nodded. "I'll do my best, Sensei. Doc is pretty stubborn."

A furred hand stretched out to cover his fingers. "As are all of you, Leonardo."

"There's something to be said for stubbornness, father. It means we don't give up easily."

"Nor should you - not for any reason."

Splinter's expression took such a serious turn that it gave Leonardo chills. "We wouldn't, Master. If everything else fails, we'll always have each other."

The rat nodded emphatically and took a drink of his tea. "There will never be an end of petty things that could separate you, my son. The important thing is for you to look past your differences and disagreements, to focus on what really matters. You are a team, and it is my hope that you will remain one."

Leonardo set down his cup decisively. "There have been plenty of mistakes, but we've worked through them. You're not worried about the four of us getting along, are you?"

"No, Leonardo, I am not worried. I am simply reminding you." Splinter inhaled deeply, and the motion set off a wrenching cough.

Leo easily read the heaviness of his father's eyes. "You need to go back to bed, Sensei."

"I do not wish to be chained to my quarters, Leonardo," he said wistfully.

"I know, Master, but you need rest."

Splinter pushed back from the table and started to reach for his cup.

"I'll bring your tea," Leo offered.

His Sensei's ears flattened in irritation. "Do you intend to bring me as well?"

"No, Master. I know you can walk."

Splinter slowly led the way across the kitchen, and Leonardo kept a slight distance from him so that the rat wouldn't feel like he was crowding him. The blue-masked turtle didn't want to analyze or theorize what could be wrong with his Sensei, but it was difficult not to imagine anything.

The familiar scent of incense hit Leonardo as soon as he entered Splinter's quarters behind him, but it was followed by a slightly medicinal quality that he couldn't get used to. Leonardo set the tea-cup down on the small bedside table, and watched his father crawl back into bed.

"Do you need anything else, Sensei?"

"Yes. I need for you to get some sleep too, Leonardo, so you will be fresh for tomorrow. I need you to keep encouraging your brothers in their training in my absence."

"I will, father."

"That is all then," he said dismissively. "Oyasuminasai, Leonardo." (Good night)

The turtle bobbed his head in return. "Oyasuminasai, Sensei."

Leonardo shut the door quietly behind him, and sighed as he looked around the living area. Sensei sounded so discouraged tonight…but Luke, Marcus, and Donny are on top of Master Splinter. I have to trust them to do the right things for him – I have to.

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