A/N: This story was inspired by Never Too Late by Three Days Grace. Thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

The night had started out innocently enough; a routine patrol to see if there was any crime that needed to be stopped, a quick game of ninja tag to keep them on their toes, and the random act of violence committed by the Purple Dragons that broke up said game of ninja tag. And so off they went, four brothers against the world.

With the passing of Splinter after their final battle against the Shredder -which put down the crime lord for good- the only thing the Turtles had left were each other. If one good thing had come from the loss of their father, it was that it had brought the Turtles closer together as a team and as brothers. Though no one could deny that it had been rough going for the first few months after Splinter's passing, they had managed to get through it.

Leonardo had tried to fill the role as leader and father, but with the "help" of Raphael he had quickly learned that they didn't need a replacement for Splinter, they needed a big brother and leader who had been trained for the day when they no longer had their father to guide them. It didn't mean that Raphael and Leonardo didn't fight, if anything they fought even more; however it was just Raphael's way of keeping his big brother grounded, and make sure whatever plan he came up with was the best plan. Of course Raphael would no doubt argue and not listen to a word Leonardo said anyway.

The arrangement worked, nonetheless. Donatello and Michelangelo would stay out of their brothers' way when they were "discussing" battle strategies, and would often bet on who would win the argument; with Donatello winning almost every time when the brother he picked would have the last word. This night Donatello had predicted that Raphael would get in the last word before charging off to confront the Purple Dragons. What Donatello hadn't been expecting was to find that the Purple Dragons were helping the Foot in an illegal weapons deal.

While his brothers took care of the Purple Dragons and the odd Foot ninja, Donatello made a mad dash for the computers. He quickly hacked into the server and it was a cake walk from there. When a Foot soldier got too close, Donatello would take him out and resume his efforts to mess with the finances of the deal that was about to go down. An evil grin crept across Donatello's face as he watched the computer crash and burn.

It was then that Donatello became eerily aware of what going on around him. A chill ran its icy fingers down the full length of his spine and Donatello turned around just in time to see a Purple Dragon throw what could have only been a pipe bomb in his direction. Raphael and Michelangelo were occupied just outside of the warehouse where they had been fighting, and Leonardo was nowhere to be seen. Donatello didn't have time to move as he watched the deadly cylinder fall towards him; his life flashing before his eyes as the bomb sailed closer and closer.

Suddenly, a streak of blue and green appeared in front of Donatello and there was the clink of metal against metal as a sword connected with the pipe, sending it flying into the rafters of the ceiling. Donatello blinked in stunned silence as Leonardo grabbed his wrist and bolted for the exit. However, they weren't fast enough before the bomb exploded.

Outside, Raphael and Michelangelo were just taking out the last group of Purple Dragons when they heard the deafening explosion. They swung around and watched in horror as the warehouse collapsed; the last thing they saw was the terrified look on Leonardo's and Donatello's faces before they disappeared in a blanket of concrete, steel and plumes of dark grey smoke. What remained of the Purple Dragons and Foot scattered seconds after the warehouse collapsed. Raphael and Michelangelo, however, ran towards the twisted wreckage and desperately started trying to dig their brothers out.

"Leo! Donny!" Michelangelo desperately called as he dug in the general area he had last seen his brothers.

"Yo, Fearless, can you hear me?" Raphael shouted fearfully. "Donny!"

They continued to dig and call out to their two brothers, but their desperate pleas for an answer was only greeted by a bleak stillness.

Raphael and Michelangelo started to dig faster as heavy dread began to fill them. Soon, they had a hole big enough to fit through. Below them were their brothers. Leonardo was on top of Donatello, using his body as a living shield against the rubble that threatened to crush his younger brother. Donatello was curled up underneath both brothers lying much too still.

Raphael and Michelangelo reached down and carefully pulled Leonardo up through the hole. Raphael's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach when he saw a piece of steel sticking out of Leonardo's right side.

"I've got Leo," Raphael told Michelangelo. "Get Donny."

While Michelangelo helped Donatello out of the rubble, Raphael gently picked Leonardo up in his arms, cradling him close to his chest, and headed straight for the nearest manhole cover with a now conscious and seemingly unharmed Donatello being supported by Michelangelo who trailed behind him.

The trip back to the lair seemed to take an eternity, but when they finally made it back, Raphael made a beeline for the infirmary. By that time, Donatello had come around from his dazed state of mind and went into full doctor mode. He instructed Raphael to prep Leonardo for immediate surgery. Donatello laid out his surgical tools while Raphael placed an I.V. in Leonardo's arm. Raphael hooked up to the I.V. line a bag of saline solution as well as a bag of blood; Leonardo having lost a fair amount of the precious crimson liquid on their way back to the lair. When everything was in place and Leonardo was hooked up to the proper equipment, Donatello injected Leonardo with an anesthetic to make sure their brother remained unconscious during the surgery. After this Donatello began the operation with Raphael's help; guiding him in the delicate process of removing the metal shrapnel from Leonardo's side.

Michelangelo waited outside in the TV area with Klunk nestled in his lap. He stroked his beloved cat and listened to the gentle purring. Michelangelo hoped and prayed that Leonardo was going to pull through. He looked over his shoulder at Splinter's room. Once it housed the best rat that had ever lived; now it served as a second infirmary, one that wasn't drenched in the smell of blood like the operating room Leonardo was currently in.

"Leo's going to be okay, right, Klunk?" Michelangelo asked, looking back down at the orange and white tabby cat.

Klunk opened an eye to look at his master and let out a soft "meow" in answer. Michelangelo sighed and rubbed Klunk behind the ears. He laid his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. Maybe when he woke up from a much needed nap his brothers would be done.

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