Casey sat with one arm hanging out the open window of the party wagon as he drove down the highway. He glanced over at April and watched as loose red strands flew around her face from her own open window. She smiled back at him when she caught his eyes on her. He could almost pretend the two of them were out on a date.

If it weren't for the four large turtles in the back, anyway.

Casey listened to Mikey sing loudly, despite the fact that he was wearing headphones in an act of noise reducing consideration. He met Raph's eyes in the rearview mirror and he shot his friend a grin. His eyes traveled over Leonardo, who sat silently looking out the window, before his eyes met Donnie's. Donnie glared back at him and in return he sent the tall turtle a mischievous grin.

Raph had grinned back at Casey and then watched Donnie roll his eyes before doing the same. It seemed even those two were in too good a mood after their recent victory to be irritated with each other on this trip. He was glad. Hopefully it meant he wouldn't have to listen to their bickering all week.

Raph turned his head to allow himself a view of Leo out of the corner of his eye. Their young leader was the only one not in a great mood. He watched as Leo slouched in his seat, which was enough to worry Raph anyway since Leo never slouched. On top of which, Leo didn't seem to be focusing on anything outside the window at all. Raph wondered if Leo even realized they were all on their way to a well-deserved vacation. He didn't want to fight with Leo on this trip, but something had crawled up his brother's shell and he was going to find out what it was.

Once at the farmhouse, they grilled hot dogs over a bonfire in the yard. There was a happy contentment felt throughout most of the group as they sat and ate dinner together. They'd defeated the Shredder. Actually defeated him. The rest of his henchman had quickly disappeared. They may have to worry about them later. But not today.

"I'm going to bed, boys," April announced later night as she rose from her spot around the fire.

"Want some company?" Casey asked, shooting her his best Jones grin and wagging eyebrows.

"No," April declared loudly before laughing as she watched Donnie elbow Casey in his side.

"Ow!" Casey said, swinging his arm back towards the turtle, although he missed him by a good foot thanks to Donnie's dodging skills. Casey flopped sideways off his log seat and stayed where he landed.

Donnie watched the human laugh in the dirt and found himself begin to laugh as well at the ridiculous sight. Mikey joined in and fell backwards off his own log seat.

Raph watched his brothers and felt his own smile grow, at least until he turned to see if they were having any effect on Leo's sour mood. The smile fell off his face when he saw that Leo was gone.

"Yer not worried?" Raph asked.

They'd moved inside and were scattered across the living room furniture. There were a couple bedrooms upstairs, which is where April had disappeared, but it looked like the rest of them were going to sleep downstairs based on how droopy Mikey's eyes were getting as he curled himself up on one end of the couch. Plus, Casey was already snoring on the couch's other end.

"Nope," Donnie replied sleepily from his spot on the floor. He had leaned his shell up against the couch and tried to focus on Raphael. He wasn't sure how Raph was still so wide awake.

"You're worried enough for the rest of us anyway," Mikey said with half a grin.

"He's Leonardo. He's the perfect ninja," Donnie said.

"Yeah, dude. Maybe perfect ninjas aren't allowed to celebrate victories," Mikey said.

Raph eyed his brothers and felt a twinge of irritation. He was glad Leo wasn't nearby to hear the others refer to him as perfect. He may have thrown the word at Leo as an insult in the past, but it had been a long time since he'd done that. Mainly because he knew how adamantly Leo disagreed with the description.

"He's fine," Donnie added with a wave of his hand.

"I don't think he is," Raph said

"Why wouldn't he be okay?" Mikey asked.

"Why would he disappear during our victory bonfire?" Raph asked. "Why hasn't he cracked a single smile since he took down the Shredder?"

"Just go find him and ask," Donnie said with a yawn. Clearly, Raph wasn't about to let any of them go to sleep with all these burning questions keeping him awake.

"With words. Not your fists," Mikey added.

"Yeah," Donnie mumbled, pushing Casey's legs to the side so he could have a spot to rest his head, "he's your responsibility."

"Mine?"

"Yeah, A Team," Donnie responded. "The B Team is accounted for and content."

"And sleepy," Mikey added, closing his eyes.

Raph huffed out an aggravated breath that his brothers weren't going to be more help. He stood and headed out the front door, irritation growing that instead of celebrating, he was headed out into the dark, cold woods in search of his stubborn big brother.

They all knew better than to travel far from the farmhouse on their own, and Raph was thankful when he heard sounds that told him he was headed in the right direction after just a few steps into the forest. But the sounds made him frown.

And his frown only grew when Leo came into view. Raph watched as Leo swung his katana while spinning and kicking in an elaborate battle sequence. Every few moments he struck out and hit an imaginary opponent, which was sometimes also a tree.

"Fearless."

Leo stopped his attack mid-strike and turned when he heard Raph's gruff voice. Raph let his eyes travel over the older turtle. Leo was covered in sweat and his plastron moved up and down as he tried to catch his breath. He'd clearly been going at this for a long time.

"Come on," Raph said, tilting his head back in the direction of the farmhouse.

Leo stared back at Raph for only a moment, immediately thankful that the hothead wasn't asking any questions. He sheathed his swords and turned without a word to head towards the farmhouse.

Raph rolled his eyes towards the sky and followed Leo back.

"Hey, wait up," Raph said, grabbing Leo by the shoulder to hold him still once they were under the lights of the front porch.

"What?"

"Ya gouged the shit out yer arm," Raph said, eyeing the impressive gash on the back of Leo's arm. "How'd ya do that?"

Leo twisted his arm to eye the bloody wound. He shrugged. "Probably a branch."

"Yer not sure?" Raph asked incredulously. He stared at his brother and watched Leo simply stare back.

"It was pretty intense training," Leo eventually offered.

Raph gave up the staring contest and pushed Leo towards the door. He directed him past their sleeping brothers and into the kitchen where he sat him down in a chair and then pulled down a first aid kit.

"Hold still," he said gruffly as he began to clean the wound.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Raph finally had to ask, "What were ya doin out there?"

Leo turned his head away and remained silent.

"Leo?"

Leo sighed. "I don't want to fight with you."

"Who said anything about fightin? I asked what you were doin outside in the middle of the night? Attackin trees and bleedin in the woods."

Leo sighed again and then surprised Raphael by speaking.

"I – I was going over the fight."

Raph's hands froze in his work. "With Shredder?"

Leo nodded.

"Why? We won the fight."

Leo's opposite shoulder went up in a half shrug.

Raph lifted Leo's arm enough to allow him to wrap gauze around the bicep before eyeing his brother. He knew Leo. Leo only obsessed like this over a fight when he thought he'd failed. While Raph had known something was bothering his brother, it never occurred to him that Leo was obsessing over a fight they'd actually won. And it wasn't just any fight, but was by far one of their biggest victories ever.

"What do you think could've been improved?" Raph asked.

Leo paused, slightly surprised that Raph was even asking. He'd been expecting Raph to immediately scoff at him. Or yell at him for being an idiot since they'd finally come out victorious against Shredder.

But Raph's question didn't mean he wanted to talk about it. Any of it. He did his best to shoot Raph a grateful smile as he moved to stand.

"Thanks for taking care of my arm, Raph-,"

"Leo -,"

"I'm just going to try to get some sleep, okay?"

Raph opened his mouth to protest again but then closed it. Leo was just as stubborn as he was. So instead of arguing, he gave Leo a nod and watched as his brother turned and silently left the room.

The next morning, when Leo asked if anyone wanted to train outside with him after breakfast, Raphael volunteered himself and Mikey, and then dealt with Mikey glaring at him behind Leo's back.

But Leo looked pleased and told them he'd meet them outside.

"Dude!" Mikey said with an actual glare at Raphael when Leo was gone, "I had zero plans to train this week!"

"Just an hour Mike, okay?"

"He looked pretty happy when you said you would," April added. She'd noticed Leo's funk as well and, although she'd never say this out loud to Raphael, she could see the family protector in action as Raph went out of his way to try to cheer Leo up.

Mikey slumped in his seat and grumbled some more before turning to glance at the kitchen counter. "That's Leo's plate," he said.

Raphael looked at the counter as well. Mikey and April had been up early and cooked a large breakfast for everyone. The plate they'd made Leo sat untouched on the counter.

"He only took the tea," April said, making eye contact with Raph. "We'll have to make sure he's eating."

Raphael scooped the last of his food into his mouth and stood. He placed his plate in the sink and picked up Leo's. "Starting now," he murmured as he headed outside.

April watched Mikey sigh as he ate his last bite as well. She leaned over and patted his arm. "I've got the dishes."

"Thanks," he said. He shot her smile, deciding to cheer himself up. "Guess I'll just head outside for some exercise! Send Donnie out if he ever wakes up."

April smiled as she watched him go. She brought his plate with hers to the sink and wondered how late Donnie had managed to stay up the night before. Knowing him, he'd been up late working on something, although she wasn't sure what he could be working on out here on their first night. She was wondering if she should've forced them all to go to bed at a decent time the night before when a pair of arms landed on the counter on either side of her, trapping her between the sink and Casey Jones.

"Morning, Red," he murmured into her hair. "Make me breakfast?"

She elbowed him lightly in his chest and heard him huff out a breath. "Mikey and I made everyone breakfast."

"Close enough," he said with a smile. His eyes focused on the different shades of red he could see in her hair from this close proximity.

Neither of them heard Donnie approach the kitchen until he mumbled a good morning from the doorway. April went to elbow Casey away from her but he'd already moved a step back when he heard Donnie as well. She watched for a second as Donnie looked back and forth between the two of them before she jumped forward towards the coffee maker.

"I made you some coffee," she said, pouring some into a mug for him. "The extra diesel kind you like." She held it up to him with her best smile and watched as his eyes softened on her face. She cupped the mug tightly with her hands, forcing his fingers to touch her own as he took the mug from her.

"Where are the others?" Donnie murmured.

"Morning training outside," April said, tipping her head towards the door.

That had Donnie frowning, but he turned anyway and headed out the side door to join his brothers.

April moved back to the sink before glancing at Casey, who had remained strangely quiet through that whole interaction. "You know, Jones," she said, picking up the sponge, "it'd be nice if you two could get along. It'd certainly make my life easier."

"Well, I'm all about pleasing you, Red," Casey easily quipped back from where he leaned against the counter. He smiled back at the smile she sent him, but when her eyes went back to the dishes, he let the smile fall off his face as he thought about the tall turtle.

Leo sat on the side porch steps and dutifully consumed the plate of food that Raphael demanded he eat. He watched Raph and Mikey stretch out in the grass and was reminded again how grateful he was that they had all come out of the last battle unscathed.

It had been one of the hardest battles they'd ever been in, mainly because they'd gone directly up against the Shredder himself. The fight itself began replaying in his mind. The Shredder had been strong. And fast. And he almost knew what moves the turtles were going to make before they made them. It was that creepy Shredder intuition which had almost cost Leonardo everything. He'd swung one way and Shredder had moved the other, which sent the evil man directly into the vicinity of –

His attention was brought back to the present by an emerald green hand waving in front of his face. He jerked his head up and found Raphael frowning at him with those wide green eyes of his.

"We've been callin ya," Raph said slowly. "Ya ready?"

Leo glanced down at his now empty plate and then quickly nodded. He walked down the stairs as Donatello came out to join them.

A/N: This story is just an idea I had that I thought would be fun to type out. And for those of you who have read my other stories, I feel like I should include a disclaimer that this will be a short story, with maybe one or two more chapters. In fact, I already have most of the next chapter written.

Thanks for reading!