A/N: Here's my contribution. Please leave a review. Follows are awesome, favorites are great, reviews are the best.

Leo couldn't sleep.

He could have blamed the tattered, ancient loveseat and its unyielding cushions which could have only been stuffed with concrete and exposed rebar. He could have blamed the eerie silence outside, interrupted only by the whirring and buzzing of a Kraang droid passing by. He could have blamed Donny's whistling snores, or Mikey, who was restless even in sleep, for kicking the couch every few minutes, or Raph's intermittent thrashing and whimpering as various nightmares plagued him through the night. He would have loved to blame Casey, who went between reciting nursery rhymes and denying breaking various objects in his sleep.

But none of those things seemed to bother April, the only silently sleeping living being in that room. Silent, but troubled. Something about this city, aside from the alien invasion, had been affecting her differently than everybody else. Her face was fixed in an almost pained grimace. But again, she was sleeping at least.

Leo was not.

Brilliant purple light suddenly shone through the cracks in the boarded up windows as a Kraang sentry passed. The first few times he had seen the neon glow had set him on edge. Now, it merely kindled the mix of anger and shame burning dully in his chest. His brothers and April and Casey at least had an idea of what to expect here. Leo had been otherwise occupied during the invasion...

He quickly shook his head and swung his legs to the floor. The decrepit loveseat gave off a piercing squeak as the ancient springs protested.

"Leo?" Raph gasped, still half-asleep as either the couch or his dream ripped him from sleep.

"I'm here. Go to sleep, Raph." Leo whispered.

His brother mumbled something as he shifted onto his side and lay still again.

Leo was careful not to elicit any more noises from the old couch as he rose to his feet. His right knee was stiff and sore from the cramped sleeping space. Donny seemed to enjoy the foam pad he had found, even on the linoleum floor…maybe he would switch tomorrow. He gingerly flexed his knee and stepped over Mikey's sleeping form, then Donny's, as he made his way across the room.

They had scavenged as much as they could from the storage closet, kitchen and tiny apartment over the pizza shop when they arrived, but only until they found enough supplies to get them through the night. Maybe he could pass a couple hours sifting through the piles of junk for something useful.

The definition of useful was, of course, up for debate. Mikey would have been content with a working TV. Donny wanted his lab back, which was arguably the most important step in fixing the city. Leo could have done with a time machine so he could stop this mess from ever happening, but set his sights for now on merely finding some non-spoiled food that wasn't tomato sauce. Mikey had been sorely disappointed to find out that months without power to keep the freezer running meant the pizza shop was not going to be the endless supply of delicious meals he had hoped it would be.

15 minutes of searching yielded nothing but a few jars of artichoke hearts and pickled banana peppers. Leo was contemplating searching the convenience store across the street for soup, or even Twinkies, when he sensed, more than heard, someone else in the kitchen. He tensed, hand inching toward the blade on his belt. By then, his brain had caught up with his reflexes, and he stopped himself.

"What are you doing awake, my son?"

He wasn't used to having Splinter back yet. It had only been hours after all. He turned and offered his sensei a small smile. "Just looking for supplies."

The rat nodded thoughtfully, "And?"

"I found out this place made some weird pizzas." Leo set a jar of jalapenos he had just discovered next to the stash of tomato sauce they had already collected. "I spotted a store on the corner. That's probably our best bet for food."

Splinter merely nodded again. "We will go tomorrow."

"What we really need to do is get back into the lair. We're not going to be able to fix the city if Don can't make the retro-mutagen. We should still have weapons down there too."

More nodding… "All things that can be discussed in the morning, Leonardo."

And suddenly he remembered what it was like to be in trouble- not from mutant monsters, but by his Sensei. There was a Kraang apocalypse outside and they had just lived on their own for half a year, but it was past his bed time and Splinter was using that tone. Not the you're –grounded tone, or even the you-better-do-what-I-say tone, but the one that went something like I'm-humoring-you-now-but-this-could-go-one-of-two-ways-depending-on-your-next-answer. Leo was a little insulted, to be honest. He wasn't Raph. He didn't mind taking orders, but after all he and the others had been through, "normal" family life would take some definite getting used to.

Leo was trying to figure out how much of his new-found independence he was willing to relinquish when he looked a little closer. Splinter wasn't upset at all. He was worried. The rat wasn't playing sensei at that moment as much as father- and that, Leo did miss. "I can't sleep." He finally admitted.

"Why not?"

That's when, in the next room over, Casey graduated from talking in his sleep to screaming. "It's in the dishwasher!"

"Shut UP, Casey!"

"OW!"

"I will GAG the next person who makes a sound!" April managed to keep her threat to barely above a whisper, but she got her point across…almost.

"What's in the dishwasher?"

"Mikey!"

Leo only had to raise an eye-ridge as he turned back to Splinter. "That's part of it."

The tall rat smiled and motioned back to the stairs he had descended from. "Come."

Leo followed him up to the tiny studio apartment where they had all insisted Splinter get the only real bed and good night's rest. Several candles were the only source of light, set up in a circle on the floor. Leo should have guessed that, after finally having his mind back, his sensei would most likely meditate, not sleep.

Splinter made his way to the window, and peeked out between the planks of wood they had hastily covered it with before turning back to watch his son finish his slow ascent of the stairs. "You are limping." He said, brows furrowed.

Leo stopped in the doorway. "Cramped couch." He shrugged. "I'm fine."

The rat's eyes continued to study him, not entirely trusting of Leo's explanation. With all the excitement of getting Splinter back and finding a new place to hide out, the turtles hadn't exactly had a chance to explain the circumstances of their departure from the city. Leo knew he would figure it out eventually. He could hide his only intermittently sore knee, but new scars and what could only be described as the second puberty of his voice were much more obvious. He should have guessed even after recently regaining his coherent mind, Splinter would be observant and sharp enough to notice immediately.

"You have changed."

Leo fought the urge to rub at his throat, and continued to awkwardly glance between his sensei and the floor.

Eyes softening, Splinter took several long, slow graceful strides forward in a way that suggested his power and skill hadn't diminished even a little in these long months. "On the day of the invasion, the Shredder told me he had taken you as he had Karai." Leo's stomach twisted painfully as he heard a rare break in his sensei's voice. "I had feared the worst." The shame burned hot in his chest now. "Though it brings me great joy to see you alive, I cannot help but notice that you are not the same as you once were." This time when Splinter stopped, he remained silent.

Suddenly, independent, fearless leader Leo was a little kid again. He hadn't changed at all. He was the same 5-year-old turtle that broke Splinter's favorite lamp with an ill-aimed throwing star. "Can we sit, maybe?"

A ghost of an almost proud smile crossed Splinter's face as he nodded. He knelt beside the candles just as Leo had seen him do a million times before. Leo started to do the same beside him, but not so subtly shifted to sit against the wall as a sharp twinge shot through his knee. He was definitely switching with Donny tomorrow night. "That day… we split up after leaving the lair. Donny was hurt. We were surrounded by Kraang. I just wanted Donny and Mikey and April to get away, so I led the Kraang away from them. I was stupid. I… they were leading me somewhere and I didn't see it, and instead of getting away, I…" Leo shook his head, smirking humorlessly at the memory of his own foolishness. "I taunted Shredder. And then I paid for it... in a way, everyone did. The others because I wasn't there for them for months, and… you. I set everything back."

Splinter suddenly rose and Leo flinched before the rat settled beside him against the wall. "It is true I was looking for you when I encountered the Shredder, but had you not left on your own, he would have also caught your brothers and April. If you had somehow escaped the Shredder, he would have found me regardless. We were ill prepared and he was luring us into a trap. His sights are set on revenge, and I fear nothing will ever satisfy him. There are many things that could have happened. You had suggested we leave the city, remember, which would have saved us much heartache. But it does not do to dwell on what we cannot change. We are all here, together, now. That is what matters."

"In a city controlled by Kraang and Shredder." Leo sighed. "It's not going to be easy. And…you're right. I'm not the same."

"When I say you have changed, Leonardo, I do not mean the sound of your voice, but what you have said when you speak. Not the way you move, but the actions you have taken. You have grown wiser. Tonight, I was angry and you stopped me from fighting the Shredder. I do not think you would have done so before."

Leo looked hesitantly up at his sensei. "I'm not so sure it was wisdom as much as fear."

Splinter smiled, "Knowing when to walk away is wisdom. Being able to do so is courage. You fought for what mattered and went no further when you had accomplished your goal. This is the sign of a great leader. I am proud of what you have become, Leonardo." He laid a clawed hand gently on his son's shoulder.

Leo hesitated for only a moment before throwing his arms around Splinter. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Leonardo."

It was several minutes before either of them spoke. Leo loosed his grip, but Splinter kept him close with an arm around his shoulders. "Experience is a bitter teacher. It pains me to know of your injuries. I would like a full accounting of them to train accordingly, but for now, you should rest."

"That's Raph's favorite phrase these days." Leo muttered.

"Then he too has grown wise." Splinter said, eyebrow raised in a surprised, but pleased expression.

There was a loud thud as something hit the ceiling of the room below them. A muffled argument could be heard. Leo could only make out Raph's curses. "For the love of SLEEP, Casey Jones, I swear on everything good in this world that I will beat the crap out of you if you make another sound!"

"Though his patience needs work." The old rat frowned.

"He waited a long time for me." Leo couldn't help but smile as he imagined Raph screaming obscenities at his comatose body, as morbid as that was. "I'd cut him a little slack."

Another thud, followed by a crash that rattled the floor boards. "Very little." Splinter growled as he rose to his feet. "You will take this bed. I do not think my mind, now that it is mine again, will settle enough for sleep tonight." He held out a hand and pulled Leo up. "Will you be able to rest?"

"That depends." Leo shrugged. "If the Kraang hear them, we're going to have a busy night."

Splinter gently pushed him toward the bed. "Try. I will solve that problem immediately."

Leo could have sworn he heard an almost gleeful eagerness to the rat's tone. He had definitely missed them, for all their flaws. Leo had been wrong. Even in the midst of an alien Armageddon, "normal" family life would resume, unchanged.

They weren't that normal to begin with.

A/N: Want to see Don and Mikey? Let us know!