AN: So this is it! The final chapter of Seven Days to Live! I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with me till the end... your support means a lot to me! I hope you liked my story ;)

Disclaimer: I own the computer I typed this on, the Idea for the story, but not TMNT.

Their Sensei trailed off as he turned to gaze at his youngest son. He thought he had seen a slight movement out of the corner of his eye.

"I must have imagined it." Splinter sighed sadly, before his mind turned to other things. "I did not return in time. If I had only understood the turmoil within Michelangelo's mind sooner, then maybe... maybe my baby would still be with us. He would be playing pranks on his brothers, skateboarding in the sewers, or perfecting his skills with the nun-chucks. Our home would still be filled with that special light, resounding laughter, and the smell of his wonderful cooking. He should not be lying here... so still... so silent... so opposite of what he is. No, this is not what reality should be".

The wise master was about to turn back to comfort his devastated sons when the movement came once more. He watched, infinite relief in his eyes as his baby's chest rose slightly.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

Leo watched as his Sensei turned away. With tears in his eyes, he couldn't help but remember all the hardships his youngest brother had went through just because he had stepped between the Shredder and his target. Why did it have to be him? He was always so innocent and full of life. Raph, Donnie, and myself have tried to keep him out of danger as much as possible. That is nearly impossible though with his ability to attract trouble. How could I have foreseen this? Even though I'm the leader I had no idea something like this could happen. I should have figured that the enemy would have a dirty trick up their sleeve... then strategized to avoid it. Even so... we did all we could! It's not like we could have kept him in a plastic bubble. Mikeys a free spirit, he would rather die..." Leo gasped as he realized what he had just thought. "What's wrong with me? Mikeys dead and it's all my fault! I should have never let him face the Shredder"!

Leo let out a muffled sob. As his knees gave out he sank to the floor, unable to face the truth that lay before him. Then... out of the corner of his eye... he saw the youngest take a breath.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

Raph growled as he stared at the unmoving form of his baby bro. There were tremors running though his body as he fought for control of his emotions. How the shell did we manage to mess this up? I promised him! I promised Mikey he'd be okay! But I let him down! I always mess up, whether it be rushing into battle without thinking things through,... or breaking promises I made to my bros. All I wanted was to protect him, but I wasn't good enough! All my training and strength mean nothing when faced with an enemy inside our bodies. How am I supposed to take care of my family when I let them down so badly? I'm so sorry Mikey... so, so sorry! I should have fought harder to reach ya, when the Shredder grabbed ya. I'll get revenge on shred head, don't ya worry!... I will avenge you"!

Raph couldn't stand to look at the empty shell that had once been the heart of their clan. Instead the hotheaded turtle turned to smash his fist into the nearest wall. It never made contact... for the moment he turned he caught a movement... coming from his baby bro.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

Donnie was weeping openly, tears streaming down his face. He stepped away from the body of his only little brother to join the other turtles who were standing a short distance away. "How could I let this happen? I was in charge of taking care of him. I'm the only one who was able to since the others don't have any medical knowledge! I couldn't save Mikey... I couldn't save the only little brother I had. All the studying I did was for nothing if I can't save the ones I care about! With him gone... I'm the youngest. How am I supposed to live with that? That title is his and his alone! We need him! Without Mikey,... I don't think I could stand staying here any longer! He was the one that always managed to bring fun into our lives,... even on the darkest day. I should have kept trying... for as long as I could! Why wasn't I able to bring him back... why? Why did he have to leave us? Mikey...!"

"Mikey, come back!" Donnie cried out, unable to keep the tortured scream at bay any longer. Though it died in his throat as he watched his little brother take in a new breath of air.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

Mikey was confused. One minute he was talking to his family, he had just been cured, then a blinding pain came from his chest. Next thing he knew he was floating in darkness, unable to see or hear anything at all. He was scared and trembling and it was oh so dark. "What happened? I thought I was cured! Something must have went wrong... but what? Maybe... I wasn't strong enough to survive? I bet my bros wouldn't have had any trouble. I wish I was strong like them. But I promised Raph and the others that I'd hold on. I couldn't have broken that! I can't be dead... right? There's no way in shell! Why's it so dark in here? I hate the dark, I can't see if there's a way out. Man this is a major bummer! Another question... WHY AM I FLOATING? That's just weird. It's like I don't have a solid form. Wait,... I think this is the passage to the spirit world. What would Master Splinter tell me at a time like this. I know... I need to meditate and focus my mind on the problem at hand". Mikey closed his eyes and concentrated on getting back to his family. He could feel the love they held for him acting as a guiding beacon in the dark,... leading him home.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

The others were all gathered around Mikey as they waited for him to wake up. It had been nearly two hours since he had started to breath again. A couple minutes later their patience was rewarded as Mikeys sparkling, blue eyes blinked open, and he stared lovingly up at the faces of his family.

"Hey dudes." Mikey rasped. "Miss me"?

"Mikey!" Called his three older brothers happily, as they ran forward to engulf the youngest in an emotional group hug.

"Mike, I'm so glad you're back!" Donnie shouted, unnaturally loud for the the genius, tears still streaming from his eyes.

"You did good little brother." Leo praised, placing a hand on the younger turtles shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I knew ya wouldn't break your promise!" Raph gloated before grabbing Mikey in a headlock and giving him a nuggie... though he made sure to do it softly seeing as the youngest was nowhere near recovered.

"Raph, quit it." Mikey laughed. They broke off as they heard their father speak.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter expressed with relief "Welcome home my son".

"Thank you father!" Mikey said happily before continuing. He started in a serious tone, but it grew increasingly more humorous as he began to laugh. "If it weren't for all of you guys... I wouldn't be here. I could feel our bond... when I was at the entrance to the spirit realm. It was really dark there... so I decided to come back and bug the shell outta you guys for a little longer".

Silence fell as each family member contemplated what the youngest had told them. They talked about it for a while longer before moving on to a different subject.

"Here's your journal Mikey." Raph said as he brought out the little book and handed it to the fun loving turtle. "I told you we wouldn't need it".

The others stared at them in confusion as Mikey took the booklet. They would never know what it contained, though they could guess based on the solemn look Mike had on his face as he clasped it tightly in both hands.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

Mikeys strength returned little by little, with the help and support of his family. The first night he woke up having a nightmare but his brothers comforted him. They had all decided to sleep together in Mikeys room, so they were there to help when it started. Over the course of a few weeks Mikey regained the weight he had lost and was able to do light katas during practice. The others were careful not to let the youngest overdue it. There was no way they were going to let him get sick from overexertion, especially not this soon after recovering from the poison. The older turtles still blamed themselves for what had happened, in turn they became even more over protective. Mikey somehow managed to still get into trouble even with the doubled efforts of his bros. He had played several pranks on them in the last few weeks, his bros were not happy with him. Everything was getting back to normal and the youngest turtle couldn't have been happier about it.

After a month the older turtles finally felt safe enough to let Mikey leave the lair, on the condition that he stay in the sewers. Mike left that afternoon, walking quickly till he came to an open area with a large whirlpool. Unknown to the young turtle his brothers had followed him, making sure he would be okay. They watched as their little brother took his journal from the pouch on his belt and ripped a page from the very back. He glanced all around, making the others dive behind some rubble to remain unseen, before balling it up and tossing it into the raging water below. He took a deep, cleansing breath, relishing the feeling of it, before he turned his sights toward home. The older turtles rushed back ahead, not wanting to be caught. When Mikey returned to the lair, his bros acted as if nothing had happened. That night all four sat down for the long awaited 'Nightmareathon'. Splinter, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep if he remained in the lair, headed to Aprils for the night. While watching the movies Leo, Raph, and Donnie laughed whenever Mikey screamed. He would hide his head under a pillow and cuddle up to his bros. The older turtles would smile and wrap an arm around the youngest. Raph laughed extra hard when Mikey nearly fell off the couch, but got his just reward when 'Attack of the Killer Cockroach' came on. He emitted a terrified scream that could rival any of Mikeys girly ones. Leo and Donnie also had moments where they gave out small shrieks or hid their faces from the screen. Needless to say none of them got much sleep that night.

-XXX-XXX-XXX-

A couple weeks later Master Splinter deemed Mikey well enough to join his brothers on a short patrol, with Dons medical approval. That evening they gathered in the living room waiting for Master Splinter to finish his meditation. The wise rat walked in shortly and stopped in front of a fidgety Michelangelo.

"Be safe, my son." He said, placing a hand on the youngests shoulder.

"Don't worry bout me Sensei," Mikey proclaimed. "My bros will make sure I stay out of trouble".

Splinter turned his gaze on his older sons. "Take care of your brother. Keep him out of harms way".

"We will, Master." Leo, Raph, and Don replied.

"Very well," Splinter sighed. "I will see you when you get home".

The three older turtles walked out of the lair into the sewers.

"See ya later," Mikey waved to his father before excitedly following after his brothers.

They made their way through the sewers and out into an alley. The turtles quickly climbed a fire escape onto the nearest roof. Mikey raced ahead, as the brothers took off across the city skyline. The youngest laughed as the others trailed further behind. Even after being sick he was still the fastest. He stopped to wait for them, not wanting to get too far away. Considering the events that had transpired Mikey was doing really well. Sure, he still had nightmares or flashbacks (times when he would remember all the bad things), and fear would cloud his mind. But those times where getting fewer and further between... replaced, now, with the usual bright smiles and happy laughter. His father and brothers made sure of that. Whenever he started feeling upset or got caught up in the bad memories of that week, his bros were there to comfort him. They would hold him close, telling him that it was going to be okay and that they wouldn't let anything like that happen ever again. They were a family, they would always protect their baby bro and be there when he needed them... no matter what tried to stand in their way. That was their promise and they would do their best to keep it.

AN: Thanks again and please let me know how you like the ending. I'd love to hear if you guys have any awesome ideas for what I should write next if you do PM me and I'll read it over. Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading Seven Days to Live!