Abby's Keeper

Chapter 1: Mr. Turtle Returns

A/N: After seeing the tea scene with Leo and the little girl in "Slash and Destroy" I just had to write a multichapter story about them. This story was originally called Tea Time with Leo and Abby, but I felt that title was too lighthearted for what I had planned for this story, so I changed it to Abby's Keeper instead. I will do a lighthearted one shot called Tea Time with Leo and Abby that will fill in the gaps of things we didn't see during "Slash and Destroy." I really hope you enjoy this story though because I'm having so much fun creating it.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot to the story.

Summary: Leo had promised to come back and visit Abby, but what starts as an innocent visit turns to tragedy leaving Leo with a responsibility he never thought he'd have to shoulder.

Abby sighed as she sat at her tea table. She was so glad the workers had fixed her room so there wasn't a giant hole there anymore. She had hoped Mr. Turtle would come back, but she hadn't seen him, and she was sad about that. Abby had liked Mr. Turtle very much and thought he was nice. He had promised her he would come back and bring tea, and Daddy had always told Abby that you should never break a promise to someone.

"I guess he's not coming back, Ruffles McBearington," she told her teddy bear. "Maybe he found a better friend to play with."

But suddenly, Abby heard a knock at her window. She looked up and saw Mr. Turtle looking at her. She hurried to the window to let him in, and Mr. Turtle came in followed by another turtle in a red mask. She recognized him as one of the turtles who broke her wall.

"Hi, Mr. Turtle, I'm glad you came back," Abby said. "But why did you bring the one who broke my wall?"

"I didn't break your wall," the turtle in the red mask explained. "Slash did that."

"Technically, you both did that," Mr. Turtle corrected him. "I see that it's been fixed though."

"Yeah, Daddy was mad about it and was on the phone for a long time," Abby told them. "We didn't think it would get fixed at all. We had to stay in a hotel while it was getting fixed, and it wasn't fun."

"What's your name, kid?" the turtle in the red mask asked her.

"My name is Abby Brannigan," she said. "What are your names?"

Mr. Turtle spoke up, "I'm Leo and this is my brother Raph. I brought him here because I thought it would cheer him up to meet you since he's been feeling sad lately."

"Why are you sad, Raph?" Abby asked him.

"Well, I lost my pet turtle, Spike," Raph said. "He got in some bad stuff and turned into that turtle who broke your wall. He wasn't very nice to me or my brothers, and now he's gone."

"Don't be sad," Abby soothed. "At least you have Leo to be with you, and I want to be friends with you, too."

"Yeah, you're right, kiddo," Raph said. "I'll remember that."

"Did you bring the tea, Leo?"

"Yes, I did," answered Leo. He took a bag that was on his shoulder and set it down. Then he took out a wooden box and opened it, revealing a pot that had flowers on it. "This is Japanese tea my dad gave me," he said. He took the pot and poured some tea into her cup as well as for himself and Raph.

"Don't forget Ruffles McBearington," Abby reminded him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized and poured some tea for the stuffed bear.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Raph. "Since when do teddy bears drink tea?"

Leo elbowed his brother in the side. "Just play along, Raph," he said softly. "Abby, are you doing to try the tea?"

Abby nodded and took a sip of the tea. After she was done she wrinkled her nose. "This tea is icky," she said.

"Yeah, it is icky, Abby," Raph agreed. "But I've got something that'll make it better." He reached into his belt and took out some sugar packets. Then he put some sugar in her tea and mixed it with one of her plastic spoons. "There you go. Now try it."

Abby did so and smiled after she tasted it. "That does taste better," she said. "Thanks, Raph."

"You're welcome, kiddo," he said ruffling her hair gently.

Then there was a ringing sound and Leo reached into his belt and pulled out a shell shaped phone. "Hello?" he said. "Hey, Mikey, what do you want? Yes, Raph and I can pick up a pizza on the way back. What are we doing? We're patrolling and we're almost done. Yeah, we'll be back in a little bit. Okay, talk to you later."

"What was that about?" Raph asked after Leo had hung up.

"Mikey wants us to pick up a pizza on the way back," Leo answered.

"For a minute there I thought you were gonna tell him we were at a tea party."

"Nah, I wasn't gonna do that," Leo told him. "If I did, he'd probably tattle on us to Master Splinter."

"Is Mikey your brother?" Abby asked them.

"Yeah, he's our brother, and an annoying one at that," Raph answered. "I bet you like being an only child, huh?"

Leo knew Raph didn't mean what he said and that it was just because he was in a bad place right now, but he really hoped Abby wouldn't think too badly of him for that remark.

"I always wanted a brother or sister, but Mommy went away before that could happen," Abby told them.

"Where'd she go?" Raph asked her.

"I don't know," Abby replied. "One day she was here, and then she was gone. Mommy and Daddy fought a lot, and one day Mommy told Daddy she never wanted to see him again, so she left."

"So she doesn't check up on you?" Leo asked. He couldn't imagine a mother not wanting to have anything to do with her daughter.

Abby shook her head. "Nope. She doesn't come for my birthday or any holidays either. I really miss her a lot."

"I bet you do," Leo said gently.

"Yeah, but I've got Daddy and Ruffles McBearington," Abby said brightly. "We're a family, and we're never gonna be torn apart ever. And I've got you two as my new friends, right?"

"Yep," Leo said. "We'll always be your friends. Well, it's getting late, and we need to get home. But I promise that we'll come back, and maybe we'll bring Don and Mikey, too, okay?"

"Okay," Abby said. She was sad to see them go, but she knew Leo would keep his promise just as he did this time. She gave them each a hug and watched as they made their way to the window. But before they could leave, Raph suddenly stopped.

"Leo, look," he said, pointing outside. "Two guys are coming to the door carrying a pizza box."

"Daddy didn't order pizza," Abby told them. "He would have told me if he was."

Leo tensed up at her words. "Raph, go into the house and check out the situation, but stay hidden," he instructed. "I'll stay up here with Abby. If anything happens, push the panic button on the T-Phone, and I'll come down."

"But then Mikey and Donnie will come, too," Raph pointed out. "We can't let them know we were here. They'll never let us live it down."

"That doesn't matter right now," hissed Leo. "Now, get down there and see what's going on."

Raph said no more and left the room. Abby was scared. What was going on? She could hear muffled voices, but the TV was so loud downstairs, she couldn't hear what they were saying. It sounded like they were angry about something. Then she heard what sounded like a gun going off. Daddy had a gun he kept hidden to protect them from intruders. Had he shot the men? Then she heard Raph shout, "Leo, we got trouble down here!"

Leo let out a growl of frustration before he turned to Abby. "Abby, I want you to stay in your closet until I tell you to come out, okay?"

"But it's dark in there, "whimpered Abby. "I'm afraid of the dark."

"It won't be dark," Leo reassured her as he pulled out a small flashlight Don had given him and turned it on. "See? This will make it so it's not dark. Leave it with you, and you'll be fine. When it's safe to come out, I'll call you. Got it?"

Abby nodded. "Got it," she said.

"Good. Now go in the closet."

"Be careful, Leo," she said. She gave him a quick hug before shutting herself in the closet. She heard Leo leave her room and go downstairs to help Raph. She held onto the flashlight and took comfort in its glow. At least she wasn't alone in the dark. What were those men doing here? Had Daddy chased them away, or did Leo and Raph have to do it? Then she remembered that Daddy had a gun. What if he saw her two friends and shot them? She couldn't let that happen to them!

She ran out of the closet and out of her room. She could hear fighting and ran down to see what was going on. Leo and Raph had some sort of weapons out and were fighting the bad men, but where was Daddy? She looked around the room until she saw him lying on the floor with some red stuff coming out of his chest.

"Daddy!" Abby cried rushing to where her father lay. Was he sleeping? As she touched him, he felt cold. Why was he like that? What was the red stuff coming out of him? "Daddy, please wake up," she begged. She shook him, but he didn't answer her pleas.

"Abby, go back upstairs!" Leo yelled. Abby looked up at the sound of Leo's voice and saw one of the men kick Leo back, causing him to slam into the wall. Then she saw the man take out a gun and point it at Leo. She couldn't let that man hurt Leo. She ran and stood in front of Leo.

"You leave him alone!" she shouted. The man just laughed and pulled the trigger, causing the gun to go off. Leo couldn't do anything as the bullet pierced Abby's stomach, and she fell back against Leo. The last thing Abby heard before she lost consciousness was Leo screaming, "Abby, no!"

A/N: Yep, I left you with a cliffie for the first chapter. I'm so evil, aren't I? Will Abby survive, or will Leo have to suffer the loss of his new friend? You'll have to read on to find out. The next chapter is almost complete, so that should be up soon. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.