So for the ones following my DA account, you know I'm in my testweek (I forgot to tell in my last story chapter) So updates will be delayed for a bit… But I already started this one-shot and I finished it so I could at least post something. Italic sentences are Japanese, hope you enjoy :D

Edit:

So this eventually turned into a story for one-shots and stuff, so here are all the chapters until now:

Chapter 1: Mikey and Splinter go out scavenging, but it ends in a disaster.
Chapter 2: Rewite of the Dark Raph episode, but with hurt Mikey. (Surprise)
Chapter 3: When Splinter vanishes for a few days, and they think he died, 9 year old Mikey has a weird way to cope (Based on a Dutch book)
Chapter 4: One-shot written for the ABC Contest Challenge on DA - Open-minded. Raph and Mikey discuss religion, and Raph accidently (seemingly) offends Mikey.
Chapter 5: Rewrite of Within the Woods, where Don watches Leo when he wakes up.
Chapter 6: Rewrite of The Darkest Plight
Chapter 7: Rewrite of Tokka vs. The World.
Chapter 8: Rewrite of When Worlds Collide

And all, except ch. 5, with a lot of Mikey whump :)

It was a rare moment they were actually together. How much it pained him to think, he realized he rarely spent time with his youngest son. Mostly of the time he was mediating, his body aging and making him more tired during the day, making it up with all the meditations. And his oldest sons, Leonardo joined him most of the times.

Of course he saw his sons often, with training, or short talks in the morning but he realized that apart from those moments, he was gone a lot. He talked with Donatello, his second youngest son, a lot. About new inventions and things to improve the lair with, and the lair to secure their safety from all the enemies.

He also talked a lot with Raphael, ever since the accident in the sewers and losing a part of his shell a few years back, he occasionally talked with his son about his anger-issues. The thing that caused the injury in the first place. And the aging rat had noticed it was bothering him a lot through his life, and the lives of his brothers.

But he rarely ever spent time with his youngest, like real time. He often talked to him in the morning, or shortly during practice, but unlike his brothers, never really spent some son and father quality time with him. And it saddened him a lot to know he wasn't. His sons were growing up right in front of him, he trained them.

They were going out on patrols almost every night, dangerous patrols to defend the city, that didn't even know of their existence. And yet he rarely saw his youngest. He still remembered the day he found them, after grabbing them and taking them back to his old apartment after their mutation he laid them down on the bed.

Leonardo had been obviously the oldest, from the beginning he was. While he wasn't the longest, or the strongest, he was in front of his brothers with a determined look on his infant-face. Raphael was behind him, glaring at the newly mutated rat and in front of Donatello and Michelangelo. His second youngest hugging the freckled one.

He still remembered how, no matter how hard he tried to coax them, he was never allowed to touch any of Leonardo's brothers. And he still remembered how little Michelangelo had looked that day, obviously not feeling well. He left them food every day, trying to keep them silent so the neighbors wouldn't hear the infants, and it was gone every day he checked again.

A few days later he woke up from a soft tapping on his nose, and when his eyes opened he stared right into sea blue eyes of the eldest turtle. There was still some doubt but for once he allowed the mutant rat to touch him, and to pick him up. He was beyond happy that day, seeing that the turtle was accepting him, but the reason worried him.

When he carried the oldest one to the room, he saw that the smallest one, Michelangelo was sick and was refusing to eat. His two older brothers were curled around the little one, giving him as much warmth as they could, but it wasn't enough. Raphael was a little bit hesitant still, and kept glaring but for once allowed Hamato Yoshi to pick up Michelangelo too.

The little turtle felt warm in his hold and sleepily opened his eyes, immediately starting to whine in distress. And while they were obviously male, he couldn't help but to think of his deceased daughter Miwa. He carefully placed Michelangelo on the bed again and hurried to the kitchen. He still had the small amount of stuff needed to care for a baby.

He knew they were turtles, but he also saw how humanoid they were. And Michelangelo's condition was worsening. He had quickly mixed a baby formula and warmed it to the right temperature. The three brothers had been cautious about the strange device, but the moment Michelangelo had clamped his mouth along the teat and happily started to drink the food, the brothers relaxed.

A smile crept on his face as he remembered that particularly memory. After that day Michelangelo grew stronger every day, and after 3 days he was fully recovered again. And after that day, the brothers started to fully trust him, not leaving him alone any day. Not even when they were forced to flee to the sewers because the neighbors had noticed the cries of the infants.

And before he even knew, his children had grown up, and the infants he adopted 15 years ago were replaced with confident teenagers who could hold their ground against powerful enemies, all expect for the Shredder. And instead of the clingy babies he remember, were now independent brothers, each with their own different personality.

Mikey giggled with delight as they continued to walk. Splinter chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. The lair wasn't the same without his youngest telling joke and jumping up and down. And of course the contagious laugh of his. He always loved it, and it made him smile everyday he'd hear that sound, and he had heard it way too less the last few years, not spending time with him.

It was the exact reason he was out with him right now, to spent more time with him. Donatello needed more materials for a new device and had asked Mikey to look for it, Raphael and Leonardo had both been busy so Splinter had, for once, volunteered to go with Mikey. And the freckled turtle had been excited from the beginning.

"Quiet down my son, we don't want to alert the enemy" Splinter called out. He loved that laugh of his son, but it would be dangerous for enemies to know their location, or the fact that they were topside for that matter. Mikey gave him a large grin before hopping down the building, landing swiftly in the alley, Splinter followed suit.

"We should do this way more Sensei, this is fun" Mikey grinned as he began to search through the rubbish. Sensei chuckled because of his statement. Nobody of his brothers thought searching through rubbish was fun to do, but somehow Mikey enjoyed the moment with his father. That was just Michelangelo.

He was unique, other than his brothers. All of them were different, but there was something with Michelangelo. He was, unlike his brothers, never angry. Though when he was it was really bad, but he never stayed angry for a long time. He was always helping others, and prepared to spend time with his brothers, or father for that matter.

"I second that my son" Splinter replied calmly as he too began to look through the garbage until he suddenly stiffened. "My son" He breathed out, not daring to leave the rubbish in front of him. A important lesson he had taught his sons so long ago. Don't make your enemies aware of the fact you sense them.

Mikey immediately recognized the tone of his sensei and shuddered. He could feel chills being sent down his spine. He knew that tone, something was wrong, a human or enemy nearby, but the stance of his father gave away it was the latter. Without really looking Mikey pulled out something from a plastic bag, holding it up.

"Is this what we're looking for sensei?" Mikey asked innocently but softly nodding so his father would understand he had heard the call, and he had noticed the tensed muscles in his father. And before his father could respond he could feel the same presence, the enemies nearing them slowly. And he praised himself for bringing his nun chucks tonight.

"Bring it closer my son" Splinter called out softly, but Mikey caught a slightly glimpse of fear in his voice. Keeping the smile plastered on his face he walked over to his father, a little too eager. It was a rule they all had, when there were enemies they had to stay together, not being separated in any way, it would only make them more vulnerable.

When the two reached each other Mikey immediately threw away the piece of rubbish and drew his weapons, Splinter doing the same. Unsheathing his sword from his walking stick, and seconds later a whole bunch of footbots dropped down the alley, encircling them along with Rahzar, who was grinning madly.

"Thought I smelled turtle, and rat" He practically purred and gestured to the rat. "I have you now Hamato Yoshi, master Shredder will be pleased when I bring you.. and your son to him" He said, pausing a moment and returning to Mikey, who angrily glared back and began to spin his nun chucks around, ready to use them any time now.

"You won't harm my son" Splinter snapped, raising his sword but not attacking yet. A low growl came from the back of his throat, threatening the enemies to stay back, nobody would hurt his son. Seconds later Rahzar let out an equally threatening roar and charged in on the two. Mikey shrieked and jumped away, deflected another attack of a footbot.

"My son!" Splinter called out as he jumped in front of his son and deflected the attacks of three footbots, cutting off their heads from their bodies with a simple cut, but more replaced them very soon. Behind him he could hear nun chucks hitting metal, and occasionally the battle yell of his son. He wanted to turn around, protect his son.

But more footbots kept him busy and he knew his youngest son could handle the situation. He may be goofing off a lot, but he was strong, fast and despite what everyone thought, smart. Pretending like he had found something, and 'showing' it to him, so they wouldn't be separated anymore. But that thought was soon interrupted by a loud scream.

He almost froze. The scream was filled with pain and agony. He gritted his teeth and swung his sword, knocking away 8 footbots at once, immediately turning away afterwards. His youngest son was sitting on the ground, sitting on his side and supporting himself with his right hand and swinging his lone nun chuck in his left hand.

His left leg was totally mangled. A footbot with a thick bat was next to Mikey, on the ground and his head detached from the robotic body. The bone in Michelangelo's leg was poking at his flesh, blood slowly pouring out of the cut on his plastron but it wasn't life-threatening, instead it was painful. Agony clearly written on Mikey's face.

And despite the pain, he carried on. Splinter growled lowly and knocked away the mutant wolf that approached his son, almost cutting off his head, but his son needed him. He immediately turned around and knocked down more footbots coming towards his son. Tears were leaking down his freckled face but still he was desperately keeping his weapon raised.

"Get away from my son!" Splinter snapped and raised his sword once again, clearing the footbots in the small area. "Michelangelo, get on my back" he knew he was asking much of his son, with his busted leg but they had to get out of here, and with Michelangelo unable to put any pressure on his leg, he had to carry his youngest son.

There was a soft mew of pain behind him but seconds later he felt something climb onto his back, followed by another pained noise. He hated hearing his son in pain but if they didn't get out of here, they would surely die. There were simply too many. The footbots weren't hard to defeat, but there were too many to handle.

With a simple flick of his wrist he threw down a smoke pellet and jumped away, climbing towards the rooftops. He could feel Michelangelo's breath in his neck, slightly pained but his arms were firmly locked around his neck, holding onto him for his dear life. Splinter ran as fast as he could, but he could feel his heart sinking when he heard footbots nearing them again.

"Dad, they're closing on us!" Mikey whispered distressed, too afraid to give away their location. Splinter once again gritted his teeth, he knew his son was right but he had to continue, he couldn't fail his son right now. "DAD!" Mikey suddenly screamed and before he knew a presence neared him. The weight of his youngest son slowing him down too much.

The bony figure collided with him painfully and knocked Mikey off his back, forcing him against the brick wall. Mikey softly cried out but his shell caught most of the damage. Immediately they were surrounded by the footbots once again, more and more seemed to come and what horrified them the most was the sound of robotic legs nearing.

"Throwing a party Bradford?" The koi fish snickered, drawing his small knife. Splinter immediately jumped backwards, right in front of his youngest son. His head was starting to pound slightly from the hit just seconds ago but he shook the thoughts off of him, he had a son to protect, and he couldn't fail him. He would rather die.

"This party is over Fish Face" Rahzar growled and jumped forwards, aiming for Mikey. Splinter angrily punched the side of the mutant, kicking him away from his defenseless son. His youngest was now standing on one leg, and supporting himself with his right hand against the wall, while the other one was holding his nun chucks.

"Dad" Mikey suddenly choked. Splinter's eyes widened when he saw his youngest son, a knife near his throat. One of the footbots had managed to sneak up and press the knife against Mikey's throat. His baby blue eyes were as wide as possible, and he slowly trailed downwards to his belt, pressing the alarm button on his phone, seconds later it was snatched from him.

"It's over Hamato Yoshi, you betters surrender if you want your little one to live" Fish face snickered, stepping forwards together with Rahzar. Splinter narrowed his eyes again, holding the footbots away with his sword. Sweat was trickling down his fur and his head was starting to pound really badly right now, making it hard to concentrate.

"Kare o busō kaijo" Yoshi suddenly snapped, the mutants looked surprised for a second, not knowing a single word of Japanese, or kata's but Mikey immediately understood it, he quickly caught the blade at the hilt and ducked away so the blade wouldn't hit him. He punched the footbot away with his fist and balancing on his uninjured leg.

The footbot stumbled back and Mikey whipped the new-found blade around, cutting the head off the body. Seconds later Splinter jumped in front of him and threw the same smoke bomb once again. Within seconds Mikey was on his back, this time without any protests but still in pain and they were running once again.

He ran as fast as he could, but the dizziness in his head and the fact that he was carrying his son along was slowing him down greatly. He threw another smoke bomb and jumped down the alley, stopping at the fire-escape. He buckled the window but found it locked. His breath hitched as he heard the footbots above him.

"Michelangelo listen to me" He said softly, putting his son down in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen easily. "You have to stay silent, don't make a sound understand?" He continued with a serious tone, he had to be fast or they would discover Mikey too, and he was in no way to continue to fight with his busted leg.

"I understand dad" Mikey said, whining softly and tears appearing in his eyes. "Please be safe, I love you" It was bearable noticeable but Splinter caught the small sentence and softly patted his son, wiping away the few stray tears lingering in his eyes and smiling softly, Mikey returning the smile. His father was strong, the best ninja he knew, he could handle it.

"I love you too, all of you" He whispered back before standing up and walking into the lights, glaring upwards, right into the eyes of Rahzar and Fish face before jumping down the alley, attempting to run as far as he could but his way was soon blocked by footbots. There were 50, maybe 100 footbots, and only one Splinter.

"Where is the little turtle?" Rahzar snickered but Mikey caught the hint of annoyance in his voice, even all the way up the fire escape, halfway the height of the building. He was pressed in the furthest corner, blending in with the shadows around him so he wouldn't be discovered. And yet he wanted nothing more than to go down there.

He could peek down, and he could see his father standing down there with all the enemies in front of him. A lump formed in his throat, there was no way. There were too many, but every time more footbots came, he knocked down more. And every time he knocked down more footbots, more footbots came. And his father was wearing out.

He smiled slightly when his father threw another smoke bomb, climbing upwards, the other side he was. Ending on the rooftop on the other side, and again more footbots joined him. Mikey crept closer to the edge. Rahzar and Fish face were making their way towards Splinter, his sensei, his father. He wanted to scream but he couldn't.

He looked disorientated and wincing from time to time, not noticing Rahzar behind him, carrying the same baseball bat that busted Mikey leg. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his father was hit upside the head, making him stumble and before any of the enemies could even react, his foot stepped on the edge of the building and he fell backwards.

A scream escaped his throat as he fell and Mikey clamped his hand in front of his mouth to prevent himself from doing the same. He never heard the sickening crack of his skull, only the stillness surrounding him. He could hear Rahzar growling, the sounds of footbots but he was numb, staring wide eyes at the place his father once was.

"He's gone, nice going dog. Master Shredder will have our heads" Fish Face snapped, his anger fully directed towards Rahzar. The mutant dog just growled at the koi, walking away. Mikey didn't move for 15 minutes, too afraid to even try. His leg throbbing painfully, and the cut on his plastron already clotted and closed.

Slowly he lifted himself up, he honestly felt numb, not processing what was happening around him. Images of his father flashing right before his eyes, the terrible scream that had been torn out of his mouth when he fell down… He squeezed his eyes shut, tears already threatening to spill from his eyes but he pushed them back.

He winced and whined slightly when he moved his leg but he pushed past it. He got out his kusarigama and wrapped it along the steel pipes, climbing over the railing and slowly lowering himself towards the alley. His eyes widening when he saw the motionless body of his father. Forgetting all the pain he was feeling he stumbled towards his father, his leg screaming in protest.

"D-Dad?" He softly called out, lowering next to him. His eyes were closed and he was laying on his chest. But it wasn't moving, and no breath was coming out of his mouth. There was a visible dent in his skull and Mikey gasped again. "Dad…" He called out, softly poking the cold fur and winced, sitting down and using both hands to roll him on his side.

Still his father remained motionless, the same one that had protected him just minutes ago. One hand beneath his body and one laying on the pavement. Tears filled his eyes as he nudged the body of his father once again, more desperate this time. He couldn't be, he couldn't be dead. Not his father, his sensei. He needed his father, he couldn't be dead.

"Dad.. w-we .. you g-gotta get up" He whispered. "We gotta go home…. Dad" Tears started to stream down his face and his body started to tremble. It was cold, but he didn't feel it. All he felt was numbness washing over him like a strong wave, sudden and hard. A horrible feeling, the aching of his heart and the loneliness.

"H-Help m-me" He whispered, his voice breaking. He didn't even know who he was talking to, all he knew is that he wanted his father. "S-somebody… help.." The last word barely above a whisper as tears streamed down without any way of stopping it. Slowly he crawled forwards and laid down next to his father, under the arm. His body was still warm and he curled himself up to the hairy body, bringing his hands up and crying.

TMNT

A soft hand was placed on his shoulder, nudging him softly. "Mikey?" The voice choked slightly as the hand continued to nudge him, but he refused to look around. The body was slowly turning cold, making it harder and harder to deny the fact that his father.. wasn't here anymore. And while his body was next to him, his spirit wasn't.

"Let's go home little bro" Leo's voice was strained and he had obviously been crying. He felt something underneath his knees and shell, hosting him up gently and avoiding his broken leg. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned towards his oldest' plastron, burying his face into the hard substance, tears once again appearing in his eyes.

It didn't even matter anymore, everything was a blur. The throbbing pain in his leg long forgotten. He wanted to scream, struggle to get away from his brothers. He couldn't leave his father here, he couldn't leave him alone but he was too tired to move a single muscle. He could only continue to cry, unable to stop the tears from rolling down.

The scream, the terrifying scream ringing through his head, again and again. The voices around him began to blur, unable to register anything. His head was bounding painfully but at the same time he felt nothing but numbness. The wind was softly blowing against his body, sending shivers down his spine. He missed the warmth.

The same warmth his father's fur would give when he snuggled close to him, listen to his strong and beating heart. The same beating that had been gone the whole time he laid next to him, but the warmth remained, if only for a couple of minutes, an hour, days, he didn't know. All he wanted was his father close to him again and his heart beating again.

"Donnie?" Leo's voice sounded defeated, so soft and so far away. Yet he knew it was right above him. He was still tightly pressed against his brother's plastron, taking in the warmth of the hard yet comfortable material. It reminded him of the warmth he was surrounded by just seconds ago, his father. He choked on a sob and buried his face in Leo's plastron even more. Automatically the arms surrounding him tightened their hold, pressing him closer.

"Please Leo, don't" Donnie sobbed from the side. The words drilled themselves in Mikey's eardrums. His older brother sounded so defeated and heartbroken. And the worst wasn't the fact that Donnie had obviously been crying badly, it was the fact that Mikey knew why. It was because he was hit by that bat, because he couldn't protect himself, and his father sacrificed himself for him.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, leaving him with spiking pain shooting right through his head. The trip home was a blur, and surprisingly short for which he was grateful. He wanted nothing more than to sleep in his bed, wrap himself up in his blankets and curling up in a pathetic ball, get away from his brothers.

He couldn't stand them, he couldn't stand having them near. If he had only been stronger, his father would've been alive by now. And his father wasn't the only one to pay for his mistake, his brothers had to pay too. They had to live the rest of their lives without their father's guidance, without his training, and without his love.

TMNT

"Is he going to be okay?" Leo whispered as I was softly lowered onto his bed. There was a soft humming noise and footsteps. Seconds later a loud howl of pain escaped my throat as someone was touching my burning leg, pain shooting straight up and spreading through my whole body. Tears jumped into my eyes and I trashed weakly.

There was a soothing hand on my shoulder and I could hear Leo whispering Japanese words into my ear. I took a few calming breaths but opened my mouth again when the same hands touched the wound on my leg again, sending burning pain with every heartbeat. My body shuddered and shocked from the pain and I groaned slightly.

"He will be okay, he didn't strain his injury too much" Donnie explained and moved towards me slowly. "Hey buddy, can you hear me?" Donnie softly mumbled and placed a hand on my forehead. I whined softly at the ice-cold touch but I was too weak to move away, or to move the hand away. Donnie let out a soft sigh before leaving my forehead.

"He's dangerously hot, we need to cool him down but we can't wet his injuries. We need to do this the old-fashioned way" Donnie rambled, his voice slightly nervous. "I'm going to call Raph and say we found Mikey" Leo didn't respond and Donnie left the room, leaving the room deadly silent. I hated it but I had no idea what to say.

"Hey Mikey" Leo whispered before something cold dripped on my arm. I winced and mewed slightly as the cloth traced down my arm, cooling it with ice-cold water. I was too tired and my limbs felt too heavy to move them, so I let Leo rub my arms with the cold water. Slowly the cloth trailed to my neck, continuously refreshing the cloth with new water.

And then it was silent again. The soft breathing of my eldest brother the only thing I could concentrate on, and I hated it. I just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. I felt horrible, my body felt so cold from all the water that was practically rubbed into my skin, I was on my bed, or a bed, without the blankets on top of me.

For some reason I couldn't hear the buzzing sound of my heater. I always turned it on in the winter, and most of spring and fall. I always enjoyed having my room warm, not too warm but a comfortable warmth. All of us loved the warmth, being cold-blooded. But right now it was turned off, and I was freezing right here.

Leo let out a soft sigh as he reached my head, placing the cloth on top of my forehead and leaving it there for a few seconds before refreshing it, placing it right back again. Fast footsteps were heard outside the door and seconds later the door was thrown open, and before I could stop it a low whimper escaped my throat.

"Mikey" I recognized Raph's voice everywhere but unlike his usual tough-guy voice, his voice was soft and filled with hurt and to my surprise not two pair of footsteps entered the room, but three pair of footsteps. By brows knitted together in confusion but my face relaxed immediately afterwards, my energy completely drained.

I winced slightly as my eye was pried apart and a little light was shined right into my eye. I had no energy to protest so I just allowed my immediate older brother to blind me with his light. Seconds later he dropped my eyes and I closed them gratefully, my eye slightly burning from the lack of blinking, and not opening them again.

"What's wrong with 'im?" Raph whispered, the mattress sinking seconds later under his weight. "And why did he run off like that, with his busted leg and all..?" His hand trailed down my arm and I winced again because of the temperature. It was cold, way colder than I remember but yet still comfortable and I immediately had to urge to curl myself into him.

Wanting to shield myself from the rest of them, and yet I couldn't. I could barely move my limbs, even twitching them sent waves of pain through my body and every time someone even ghosted over my leg, or I tried to twitch it I would end up whining in pain again. The third pair of footsteps walked closer, his walk was strained, even in my weakened state I could hear the slight limp.

"His fever is high my son, and it may cause him to be delusional. He can't separate illusions from reality" There was a slight cough before the room went silent, and even I didn't make a noise or a move at all. It couldn't be right, I couldn't be hearing my father's voice. He was dropped down the building, I saw him falling.

I remembered his scream, I remember him falling, and yet I don't. Everything began to blur right in front of me. My temples started to thump painfully and despite my closed mouth, a groan escaped my lips. Immediately a cold hand was placed on my shoulder, rubbing it softly to calm me down. I didn't understand, was I dead?

"Mikey, I know you can hear us. Open your eyes for us" Leo said softly in Japanese. He knew I liked his voice, especially when he talked Japanese. Out of all of us, Leo was the most devoted into speaking Japanese, closely followed by Donnie. Raph didn't really care about learning such a difficult language but I did.

And while I couldn't speak it very well, I could understand everything Leo, or anyone else, said to me. My speech has always been a little bit off in Japanese but I managed. I never really liked to speak Japanese, I preferred to listen instead, listen to Japanese lullaby's, or the comforting words Leo would whisper in my ear whenever I was upset.

"Come one baby bro" Even Raph did it sometimes. It sounded way less fluently, he could barely pronounce the words correctly but he was trying his best just to comfort me, and that was why it always worked. It was something between me and Raph, and he rarely spoke Japanese to the rest of my brothers, he only did it for me, and only on rare occasions.

And besides the weird pronunciation I could still understand my older brother. A low groan once again escaped my parted lips and my eyelids suddenly felt heavy. My eyeballs were twitching and straining themselves to open. The cold hand was placed on my shoulder, rubbing circles again and slowly I parted my eyelids, just barely. The first thing I saw was a blur of blue and red, but not sensei.

"D-da.." I rasped, shocked by the rawness in my throat. Worry washed over me and suddenly the painful throbbing in my leg made itself present again. I whimpered and curled ever so slightly in a ball, hovering my arms over my wounded leg. "…d..ad" I choked softly, tears building up in my eyes and I had no idea why.

"Easy little bro, he's safe, wounded but safe. And all because of you" Leo softly said to me, dipping my forehead in the cold water once again. I didn't listen to him, just continued to cry, my eyes closed again "Dad, what is wrong with him?" Leo's voice barely above a whisper but his concern was clearly shown, he was scared and it was because of me.

"I do not know for sure, but I have an idea" Splinter responded and walked over to me, and placing his paw on my head. "My son, listen to my voice. Can you tell me what you saw before your brothers found you in the sewers?" My eyes almost snapped open in surprise, if it wasn't for the tired and numb feeling all over me.

Sewers? They found me in the sewers? I couldn't remember how I got there, I passed out in the alley, next to…. next to his dead body. I whimpered as the scream rang through my head again, pounding itself into my skull and leaving a dull headache. I whimpered again and slowly pried my eyelids apart again, letting out a sob of relief when I really saw dad standing there.

"…y..ou.. f-fe..ll .." I rasped, struggling to say those words, it hurt but I pushed through. "f..ell.. s-cr..eam.. c-col..d" My eyelids closed again, panting slightly because of those few words I had spoken. A soft sigh was near me before I could feel dad sitting down next to me, the mattress sinking slightly because of the weight but never leaving my head.

"You saw me falling after Bradford hit me on the head.. and I died, am I correct?" Dad said, straight to the point. He swallowed in between the sentence, hesitating slightly to speak those words but it was barely noticeable. I weakly nodded, unable to speak much more, and I honestly had no urge to speak about it more, but I had to know.

"..w-w..ha. h'ppen..ed?" I managed to rasp out but my eyes kept themselves closed. There was a short silence and I could feel my brothers moving around slightly. Seconds later my door, if I was even in my own room, opened and two pair of footsteps left the room, I wanted to open my eyes to see who left but I had no energy left, I could barely stay awake.

"It is alright Leonardo, I will talk to your brother. You are tired" Splinter suddenly spoke before he answered my question. "Training is cancelled for tomorrow while I look after your brother, now go" His voice was stern but there was a hint of humor mixed in it and he chuckled slightly, soon followed by a soft chuckle from Leo.

"Just don't stay up too late sensei, you're still injured after all" Leo said before the door was opened again, leaving me and dad alone in the room. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, begging them to stay awake but I was barely succeeding. I kept drifting off, and the only thing constantly waking me up was the cold cloth that Sensei kept replacing on my head but just barely.

"You fought so brave my son, do you remember what happened yesterday night?" Dad suddenly began and I whimpered softly. Images of the fight flashing before my eyes but they were mixed and blurry so I shook my head, I didn't understand. One time I was walking in the alley and the next moment I saw my dad falling.

And at the same time he never did. Every time he fell the scene would change again, me laying in the sewers, where my brothers apparently found me, Donnie setting my bone at home. And even those were blurry. I was confused, cold and I wanted answers. Dad seemed to notice my distress and dipped the cloth in the cold water once again.

"You told me you saw me dying, I fell off the building because of Bradford" He started, his voice soft and I nodded again. "You are suffering from a high fever my son, yesterday both of us went out to collect some parts for Donatello's new security system, and we were ambushed" He continued and once again I nodded, too weak to even open my mouth.

"You fought hard my son but Shredder has no honor and his henchman aimed for you, breaking your bone and rendering you helpless" I frowned slightly, it was exactly what happened just hours ago, which was supposedly a hallucination. I pried my eyelids apart and stared right into the eyes of my dad and he immediately grasped my hand.

"I helped you to safety but you were bitten by Fish Face before I could do so, Donatello informed me that your fever was in fact caused by that bite, someone had been altering with the venom" I gasped slightly, not knowing how to react really. My right hand twitched slightly, trying to reach for my arm when I suddenly remembered the excruciating bite. It hurt, burned even before purple smoke had surrounded me, and from that moment everything was blurry.

"I managed to get you behind a dumpster and lead them away but unfortunately I was hurt too and I didn't see Bradford coming, I was hit and I fell from the building. Although I managed to catch myself on the way and I landed on the ground without major injuries, your brothers came seconds later, after you pressed the panic-button" He softly explained to me.

"We brought you home and Donatello looked after you, treated your wounds but was unable to stop the venom from spreading and getting a fever this high." He continued softly. "You suffered from fever dreams and ran off this night, we went to look for you and Donatello and Leonardo found you in the sewers close by" he finished and cradled my head softly.

I whimpered and leaned in to his touch, closing my eyes fully now. I made no attempt to open them again. My head was spinning again and I could only hear the pounding in my head and the flaring pain coming from my left arm, where the mutant fish had bitten me. Dad seemed to catch the hint and wrapped his arm around me.

"I know you are confused now my son but this is only temporarily" he whispered in my ear. "You must focus on getting better. Sleep well my son." He said, the last four words in Japanese and I smiled slightly. The cloth was dragged over my forehead one more time before a blanket was placed on top of my body, tugging me in.

Dad planted a kiss on my forehead and wished me goodnight once more before leaving my bed. He never left the room though, sitting down somewhere in the chair where he could watch me without disturbing me with his warmth. But at the moment I didn't care, I just wanted my dad next to me, have him close so he wouldn't go away again.

"S-…stay" I rasped and weakly lifted my hand, barely managing to get it off the bed, and weakly called for him using my hand. There was a short pause before dad let out a soft chuckle. I smiled slightly when I heard him getting up and walking over to me. The first touch of his fur was almost torturous, but I didn't let go, pulling him closer weakly.

It was barely a pull, and dad could have easily pulled away but he didn't. Lifting my blanket and laying down next to me. I groaned slightly as I attempted to curl up against him, I was just too weak to do so but a strong hand on my shell helped me on my side. I was too tired to speak so I happily nuzzled my face in his chest, wrapping myself up slightly.

"I love you my son" Were the last words I heard before I was engulfed with the comforting darkness, my father next to me, protecting me and never leaving my side again.

TMNT

Done :D honestly, this was supposed to be a cute one-shot with Mikey and Splinter, and then I saw Lion King again ….but once I killed Splinter I just couldn't do it… So I wrote this.

Basically Mikey and Splinter were ambushed, Mikey's leg was busted and he was bitten, causing him a delusional fever and Splinter was hit on the head and thrown of a building, but survived. The following night Mikey got a dream where Splinter didn't survive and ran away into the sewers, his brothers found him and took him home.

Please tell me what you think! ^^