TMNT is owned by Mirage- HEY! I missed the new theme song! I hear it is funny!

Aftermath- Part D

Don looked at Master Splinter, who was sitting at the kitchen table, his chin resting in his left hand, his right lying across a notebook, pen loosely grasped, a cup of tea untouched and cooling in front of him. His eyes were closed, and Don knew it wasn't because he was meditating or trying to think of what to write. He had dozed off. Again.

"Master Splinter?" Don gently placed a hand on his father's shoulder and gave him a little shake.

"Wh- does one of your brothers need something?" Splinter, startled, began to get up to head to the bedroom where Leonardo and Raphael were still recuperating.

"No, Sensei," Don replied, keeping his father seated. Then he sat next to him, eyeing the list on the table. Splinter had titled it Reasons for Your Punishment. So far he'd reached number eleven. "You've thought of eleven reasons why Leo and Raph need punishment?"

"I have thought of twenty-seven reasons, my son," Splinter said, an edge in his voice that seemed almost natural lately whenever speaking of his two foolish sons and future parental retribution. "I have narrowed it down to eleven- I hope."

Don was itching to get a better look at the list- in fact, he was wondering if Sensei would take suggestions. He wanted a little brotherly retribution on the two who had left him and Mikey out of the final battle with Bishop. But he kept quiet about it for now. He had a mission, and he needed to succeed.

"Sensei, you really need to get some rest," he began, but Splinter, with an "I had forgotten that one!" had picked up the pen and added reason number twelve to his list. "Sensei! You're not listening to me!"

Splinter looked up from his list and at his son, slightly surprised that he was there.

"What is it, Donatello? Do your brothers require something?"

Don took a breath; he also took hold of Splinter's hand so he couldn't write anymore.

"Sensei. You need to get some real sleep. You have been running yourself crazy with those two. I know," he said quickly, as Splinter appeared ready to protest, "I know, you say you are getting sleep. But Sensei, you're not really getting restful sleep. You sleep in the room with the guys, and I know that every time one of them sneezes you are up, fussing over them."

"Your brothers still require much attention," Splinter defended his actions. "I do not 'fuss over them'. And I am getting enough sleep."

"You keep falling asleep at the table," Don pointed out. "You fell asleep last night in the middle of dinner. Even with all the noise Mikey was making."

Splinter gazed back at his list as Donatello spoke.

"Yes," he said, and Don smiled in relief. "Yes, that is another good reason." And he added reason number thirteen.

Don sagged in momentary defeat- then rallied his strength, and took the pen and notebook away from his startled father.

"Look. I know that it looked like we'd brought them home to die," he said plainly, causing his father to cringe slightly at the words. "But we were lucky, and they are going to survive. They have a long way to go, and they are still very weak. But they are doing better! You, on the other hand, are ruining your health. You were in pretty bad shape yourself, and even though your wounds are healing quickly, you're still not one hundred percent. What would happen if you collapsed on us?"

Splinter sighed, looking into the eyes of this most persistent of sons. It was true- he had been feeling tired, and he was having trouble concentrating, as well as staying awake.

"You are right," he admitted. "I wish to sleep in the same room with them because we so nearly lost them. And you are also right about my waking up. I do still wake up at the least noise they make. And also when there is no noise. Sometimes I wake up convinced that one of them has stopped breathing, and I sit there, staring at them until I am reassured that they are still with me. You are right, my son. I am tired."

"Good! Mikey and I have fixed up Leo's bed for you, Sensei," Don grinned, relief washing over him, relief mixed with a certain amount of pride at having convinced his father of the need to get some real sleep. "It's all ready for you. Don't worry about Leo and Raph- please! Come on upstairs and get some sleep!"

So Splinter allowed his son to escort him up to Leonardo's room where Mikey was waiting, ready to help tuck Sensei in.

"I've put one of Leo's CDs in the player, Sensei," Mikey smiled, as his father gratefully got into the bed. "It's really nice, soothing traditional Japanese stuff, the one Leo uses for meditation."

He hit the play button- and deafened everyone in the room with a sudden blast of Rob Zombie. Mikey quickly shut off the music, and grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, sorry about that. I forgot that I put one of Raph's CDs in that case as a joke to Leo."

"The music is a considerate thought," Splinter carefully said, ears still hurting slightly. "But not needed."

"Oh. Well, how 'bout I read to you?"

"He's here to go to sleep, not be entertained, shell for brains!" Don hit Mikey in the head, and they left Sensei to get some much needed sleep.

Don went to his lab for a short time, but his mind was on the coming project. He was glad that he'd finally convinced Splinter to get some rest upstairs away from the guys. They would be relieved as well- not that Don was in the mood at the moment to make their lives easier by providing them with a long break from what Raph termed as "Sensei's Mother Hen mode."

He wandered into the kitchen, where Mikey was busy studying Splinter's list. He held the pen poised to write, but his face, crinkled in thought, tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth, indicated to Don that he was having trouble deciding what to write.

"What are you doing?" he asked the needless question. Mikey looked up, still puzzled.

"Well, I was gonna add a few more reasons for why those two need to be punished," he admitted. "But looking at this, I don't think I can improve on it."

Don looked as well; a small whistle of surprise escaped him. Mikey nodded wisely.

"I see you found number seven."

Don merely shook his head at the depths of anger his father was still feeling, all expressed in these reasons for why Leo and Raph deserved punishment.

"Oh, well, chances are he'll just pick one and let them have it good," Don said, tossing the notebook back on the table and going to check briefly with Leo and Raph to see if they needed anything. Then he and Mikey sat in the kitchen, planning.

They waited about three hours, to be sure Splinter was really sleeping and wouldn't hear them. They wanted to be able to talk to Leo and Raph without parental interference. This was something the two younger brothers had been discussing more and more as the danger had passed and the older ones had begun to heal.

Sensei, it seemed, wasn't the only one who had felt a sort of anger growing in recent days.

Don checked quietly on Splinter; he was definitely in deep sleep, and he smiled at the rat, momentarily forgetting his mission.

Then he and Mikey marched into Sensei's room where Leo and Raph had been since they had brought them home that horrible night, more dead than alive.

They were playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who was going to have to crawl over to where the ball they'd been tossing back and forth in their boredom had landed. Raph had lost, and wasn't looking forward to moving- everything still hurt.

"Yo, Mikey!" Raph grinned in relief when they came in. "Toss us the ball, will ya?"

But Mike walked past it, as he and Don came up to the brothers and sat on the floor between the futons. Leo and Raph could see that something was on their minds.

"You guys need anything?" Don started out, but they shook their heads, wondering what the problem was.

"Good, we have a fight to pick with you," Mike began.

"Why did you guys freeze us out of your fight with Bishop?" Don asked.

Raph and Leo exchanged amused looks.

"Are you kidding? I'd of freezed out Leo if I could have," Raph grinned.

"I was trying to think of ways to freeze Raph out," Leo smiled, and they hi-threed each other, even though the act caused Leo to grimace in pain- his left arm was far from healed.

"We're serious!" Don sharply interrupted their fun. The tone of his voice, the emotion behind those two words, stunned Raph and Leo into silence. "Since when are we babies that need protecting? Since when are we unable to fight? I thought we were brothers! I thought we were a team! I thought we were family!"

Leo and Raph both looked as if Don's words had physically slapped them in the face. They had heard Don angry before- but this! This was beyond anger. This was- well, this was injury!

"Is it because you don't think Don and I can be bloodthirsty?" Mike took his turn, and his tone of voice matched Don's in hurt and anger. "Or do you look down on us because we don't have blades?"

The words were rough. The emotion behind them was stunning!

Raph and Leo were completely shocked by the depth of anger in their brothers. They couldn't remember ever seeing either brother so upset, so hurt- so full of accusation. For a few seconds they couldn't speak.

"No! No! No, we don't look down on you!" Raph finally protested sincerely, trying to physically reach the nearest brother and nearly falling in the attempt. Mike kept him from hitting the floor, but refused to let Raph comfort him with a touch- he propped up his brother, but moved out of range of the brotherly hand at once.

"We are brothers! We are a team! We are a family!" Leo was saying soothingly at the same time, desperately trying to reach Don with words if not a touch- but Don, like Mike, remained out of reach.

"You couldn't prove it by us!" Don angrily snapped, frowning. "All we get is an order to take care of Splinter while you and Raph go off to 'take care of some unfinished business'."

"You didn't even consider us!" Mike added, and they couldn't remember seeing him this hurt or angry. "You didn't even give us a chance to help, to even the score! You know, I had some 'unfinished business' with old Bishop myself, yet you didn't give me the chance to take care of it. I would have liked to avenge Victor! I would have liked to avenged Splinter MYSELF!"

Leo sighed desperately, and looked at his upset brothers.

"Look," he tried. "We had a good reason-"

"Spare us the 'Fearless Leader' routine, Leo!" Don said sharply, and even Raph winced at the words, as well as the sentiment behind them. "When we first had to go topside- when the mousers destroyed our old home, and we had our first real fights- we were a team! We faced the dangers together, and we were successful!"

"True, but-" Leo tried again, but Donatello was not to be stopped. He'd had countless nights to practice this speech, and Leo was not going to prevent him from delivering it.

"But nothing! We faced the Shredder with you when he tried to convince you to join him!" Don was relentless. "We fought the overwhelming attack of Shredder and his group that time they nearly killed you! We survived that prison on the triceraton home world, we fought as an inseparable team in the arena- we took on Shredder and agreed- AGREED, Leo- to end our lives together in order to stop him!"

Don's face and voice were a perfect match in anger and hurt. Leo and Raph were unable to respond to the sheer force of their brother's hurt.

"We did all of this- as brothers," he finished, tears present, but voice still strong. "We did it all as brothers. And you cut us out of this!"

Leo looked helplessly at Raph, who was trying not to let the tears that had come to his eyes escape. Raph barely shook his head sadly- he had no words to support Leo or appease Don.

Leo looked again at Don, and tried again.

"Don, you're right- you're right, we did all that and more. We've done more than that as brothers; as a family. But this was different-"

"How the hell was it different?" Mikey nearly shouted, and they were faced with identical expressions of anger and injured hearts. "How was it different from the prison? From the arena? From Shredder's attack? And Leo, in case you forgot, Don and me supported you when you went against Sensei during that whole gang war thing after they thought Shredder was dead! You took off from the family- and the family supported you- cause Raph and Sensei showed up and helped out at the last minute! We've done everything as a family- until the night you and Raph decided to kill Bishop!"

"Look!" Leo shouted suddenly- he'd had enough. "When we all came home that night from the Triceraton mother ship- well, Raph and I- we had-"

"Nightmares," Don finished. "We all did. Why should that make you cut us from your lives?"

"Naw, Don!" Raph exclaimed, trying desperately to soothe his brother. "We never cut you from our lives! Please, Don, listen to Leo! Come on, Bro. Please!"

"Look- my dream was that I escaped and got to you just as Bishop killed you," Leo said, with more force than he intended. "I was too late-"

"And I dreamed he started on me after killing Mikey," Raph continued, anger at the memory of the dream growing.

"We knew you guys had been through too much," Leo said, trying to sound rational, but everyone could tell that emotions were still running high. "I mean, you had been through that mind probe, and what with the death of the Fugitoid-"

"Call him 'Professor Honeycutt'!" Don forcefully interrupted.

"-Professor Honeycutt," Leo said, looking at his brother with understanding, "and Bishop taking sadistic delight in tormenting Mikey just before- just before-"

"Nobody torments Mikey but me!" Raph burst out, angry tears on his face. "Nobody! Especially that- that-"

"We were all his prisoners that night!" Don nearly shouted. "We were all in the same boat! We would have gone out together! Why did you leave us out that night with Bishop?"

"Because I couldn't do anything that first time!" Leo shouted back. "I couldn't do anything!" And now he was crying- crying angry tears, angry tears at the dead Bishop! "Who the hell did that bastard decide to start with that night, Don? Do you remember? You remember everything else! He decided to start with Mikey! With MIKEY!"

Raph now reached across the narrow gap that separated their futons, and managed to grab hold of Leo's injured arm, and the squeeze of this brother's hand anchored Leo, and kept him from screaming.

"He started with Mikey," Leo continued, drawing strength from Raph. "Not me! Not the 'fearless leader'! Do you KNOW how many times I've had to hear Splinter tell me that I am responsible for all of you? To protect my brothers? To protect my family? And that night I couldn't protect any of you! I couldn't! Why did he pick out Mikey first? Because he KNEW that it would cause the most anguish! He was a sadistic evil bastard, he was the epitome of evil, he was worse than Shredder- and I had to kill him! I had to protect you all from him!"

He faced Raph now, and sighed. The emotional outburst tired him out worse than that horrible deadly fight with Bishop, but he kept on going, just like that night, he kept on going- and his brother was the one who made it possible- just like that night-

"I know- why did Raph and I do it together, and leave you two out," Leo continued, a bit calmer. Raph gave Leo a supporting grin, a supporting squeeze of the hand on his injured arm. "Because Raph understands. Raph understands the need for cold-blooded vengeance- for commitment to bloodshed- for doing what we have to do to protect this family."

"And we don't?" Don shouted.

"Yes, you do," Raph replied mildly, and the soft response stunned everyone in the room more than any outburst would have. "Yes, you both understand this all too much. But this was different. I can't explain how, but this was different than all the other times combined. This was different. This was cold-blooded planning. This was our responsibility."

And he looked at Leo again, and the two exchanged understanding looks.

"But Leo, that doesn't explain why you cut us out," Don was persistent. "You guys made this decision months ago. Why couldn't you include us? You had plenty of chances to. Even at that moment, when we found Splinter, why couldn't you include us?"

"We were committed to ending this in blood," Leo said. "We knew from the first that we would end this one way or the other in lots of blood. Don, you're a great ninja, a great brother- and a great inventor! We owe much of our comfort and safety to your work over the years. But you like to avoid problems sometimes- talk things out. I know from experience that in the heat of battle you are deadly. But can you honestly sit there and tell me that you would have committed to a future bloodbath?"

"You didn't even give me a chance," Don replied. "You knew what I went through when we were separated by that time scepter; you knew the 'future' I was sent to. And you still didn't give me a chance."

"You're right," Leo nodded. "We didn't. And that is my fault. I made the decision to protect you- because of what you'd gone through in that future. It was my fault. I know this."

Then he looked at his youngest brother.

"And Mikey- we didn't want Splinter to know what we were planning," Leo continued, "and you can be a bit- transparent-"

"You have a big mouth, Bro," Raph said. "You can't keep a secret to save your life- and this was that type of secret. Plus, those nightmares- Mikey, when we thought we'd lost you that night when we ran into Bishop and the Slayer- well, you were so injured, so sick- and I told Leo that there was no way I wanted you involved in the final battle, no matter how great a fighter you are. Do you know how worried Splinter was about you?"

"Do you know how worried Splinter's been about you?" Mike returned mildly, and the guilt that hit them was made worse by his calm reply than if he'd shouted at them.

"Look- we were overprotective," Leo admitted. "That night we really felt that it was our job to take care of Bishop. You're right, we had plenty of chances to include you. But we thought we'd just wait until we'd found him. All through the stuff that's been happening these months, Raph and I have been looking for information or news about Bishop."

"Yeah, and we were having no luck, so whenever we'd think we should really tell you guys our plans, we'd decide to wait until we had some hard facts to go on," Raph said. "And whenever we came up on something new, we'd wonder if it would lead to Bishop- yet it always turned out to lead to Shredder."

"Even when we encountered Bishop, something prevented us from doing what we wanted to do," Leo continued. "We blew chance after chance. And we'd think- 'we'll tell the guys later'. Yet 'later' never seemed to come."

"And then, when we were separated by the Daimyo's son, it wasn't so important- we were all too concerned with getting back home," Leo continued. "And then, when we get back, and Sensei is captured by that madman- and we STILL can't seem to kill him- well-" and he helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

"And then he had Sensei for a second time," Raph whispered, tears once again on his face, voice hoarse with emotion and memory-

And the scene flashed before all four of their eyes- Master Splinter strapped helplessly to that dissection table; the tubes that were inserted into is body; the blood on his head from what they discovered later was the beginnings of an operation to install one of Bishop's "fail safe" devises.

Four turtles sat there, reliving the horror, tears of impotent anger on all four faces.

But it was Leo who cracked first, suddenly shouting in rage again, and bringing his fist down hard on the little table that sat between him and Raph, sending everything crashing around the room, breaking a glass, and cutting the hand of his injured arm.

"What was that noise?"

Far up in Leo's room, Splinter had heard the crash. He awoke with a start from a pleasant dream, confused as to his location- and then remembered his sons.

His sons!

They froze, brothers together- they froze, suddenly four turtle tots about to be busted for some major infraction, suddenly four turtle tots that had to work together to keep the wrath of their father from all of them!

Mikey desperately tried to clean up mess while Don tried just as quickly to bandage Leo's hand.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Leo was smacking his good hand on his forehead in self-admonition, brotherly angst forgotten in the unified attempts by all to fix this before their father found out!

"Hurry, Mikey! Hurry, Don!" Raph was anxiously whispering, both eyes on the door, both ears tuned to any approaching sound.

Too late!

"What is going on? What has happened? Why did you shout so? What is wrong with your hand, my son?"

"Nothing, Sensei, just a minor accident," Don said cheerfully, and all four smiled and nodded enthusiastically in agreement; four turtle tots busted for swiping cookies, for breaking a treasured item-

For just being kids.

Splinter wasn't buying it. He looked at the still-tear covered faces, the mess Mike was trying to hide, and the cut on Leo's hand. He gently took Don's place and took care of the injury himself.

Silence reigned supreme for several minutes. Then:

"What was going on, my sons?"

Mild and loving. No anger. No accusation. No blame.

Which made it worse.

"It was my fault, Sensei," Don said, bowing. "I asked them why they cut us out of their battle with Bishop. I was still hurt about it. I'm sorry."

"No, it was my fault, Sensei," Mike contradicted his brother, also bowing. "I was still mad because I never got to pay back Bishop for Victor or myself, and I complained enough that I guess I upset Don. I'm sorry."

"No, Sensei, it's our fault," Raph said, and he and Leo bowed as best they could. "We hurt their feelings by being overprotective. We're sorry."

Splinter looked at each of his sons. In spite of these apologies, he could still see the hurt, the anger, and the lingering horror on their faces.

He sighed.

"My sons. My sons, Bishop is dead. We are safe. Let all of this go," he said kindly. "Do not spend precious time on whys and why nots." Then he raised both hands in the air and gestured. "This nightmare is over! I banish it!"

They all smiled, and felt better as if by magic.

"Now, I was in the middle of the first peaceful dream I have had since this whole thing began," Splinter said, "when I was awakened by the sons who pressured me into taking a nap in the first place. But since the dream was about my sons, I guess I should not be upset."

He looked at Don and Mike.

"You two have worked hard caring for your brothers," he said. "You have neglected your training and your leisure. Perhaps it would be all right for you to go above ground to visit your friends, or else get some much needed rest yourselves."

Don and Mike looked at each other, slowly grinning genuine grins- something that they had not experienced in the last few weeks.

"It would be nice to go visit April," Don admitted. "We only see her when she comes here to help out."

"It would be nice to play some video games, or read some comics," Mike smiled. "I can't remember the last time I did either."

"It would be nice to get up and go to the bathroom on our own without an escort or supervision- I can't remember the last time I did either," Raph murmured to Leo, and they both stifled laughter- especially as they caught the disapproving looks of their Sensei and brothers. They grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry," they said in unison.

"Yes, just remember exactly why you are in this embarrassing situation in the first place," Splinter admonished them. "Donatello, before you leave, please bring me their medications. I will go back to sleep in here- where I can rest peacefully without interruptions. And yes," he looked kindly at his son, "I promise on my honor that I will truly get some sleep. Then you two are free for the rest of the day."

"Thanks, Sensei!"

"We won't be long, Sensei!"

Splinter personally supervised the downing of the three various medications prescribed by the Master Healer, demanding to see bowls, alert to any possible incidents of pretending to drink the unpalatable concoctions while secretly dumping them untouched. He supervised, with the same sharp-eyed scrutiny, the obligatory follow up cups of green tea, glasses of orange juice, and bowls of broth.

"I am so tired of broth," Raph whispered, as Splinter was out of the room to get them some more. Apparently he wasn't satisfied with their only having one bowl each this time. "I'll bet if I cut myself, I'd bleed chicken soup."

"Do you think he puts something in it to make us sleep?" Leo wondered. "Every time we drink that stuff, we end up taking a nap whether we planned on it or not."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Raph responded. "But I'm not going to resist. He just might decide that we're well enough to spank our backsides."

Leo stifled his laughter, along with Raph, to make sure Sensei didn't hear.

They knew that they would have to appease their brothers later. They knew that this wasn't truly over, only on a break.

But they also knew that their brothers- and hopefully their Sensei- would eventually forgive them, and things would be as they once were.

Splinter returned, and they dutifully drank the second bowls, and thanked their Sensei, and then without a word lay down and closed their eyes.

They each peeked once, after what they had judged to be a decent amount of time, only to find that Splinter was still sitting between them, watching to see if such tricks were attempted. Then they gave up (with identical sighs of resignation) and actually went to sleep.

And when Splinter was satisfied that his two foolish sons were really asleep, he, too, lay down and closed his eyes.

And he dreamed peaceful dreams of his sons.