So, long time no see – or read. I recently watched TMNT again and then this came to my mind. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me

Warning: My mother tongue is not English – therefor I apologize for any mistakes. I hope there aren't too many.

Reviews are very appreciated. Also, if you have any ideas for other stories I should write, just give me a PM or leave a comment. I don't promise anything though.

Summary: Leo is plagued with nightmares. Will his brothers be able to help him?

Night one

Mikey woke up because he couldn't sleep. It was strange, but he had a bad feeling about something he couldn't quite describe, which was very unusual. He felt something was wrong.

He looked at his watch and sighed. It was 2 a.m. Maybe a snack would help.

He went outside of his room, but suddenly he heard a noise. It came from Leo's room. He sneaked over because he didn't want to wake up anybody. It was a strange noise, as if someone was scratching onto something. The door to Leo's door was slightly open and Mikey took a careful look inside. He didn't have to be careful though because he could see that Leo was wearing his headphones, obviously listening to some loud music. Mikey frowned. Leo usually didn't like these things, especially not that kind of loud music. As Mikey saw what Leo was doing, he knew why he had that bad feeling. Leo was drawing, quite aggressively, with a pencil. That was the scratching sound that woke Mikey up. This was nothing special because Leo loved to draw as Mikey knew. However, it was 2 a.m. and Leo actually drew something that Mikey knew it wasn't anything Leo would normally draw. The paper that Leo painted was nearly black, except for some very creepy red eyes and white fang teeth, as if it was a kind of dark monster.

Mikey just wanted to go inside Leo's room, but suddenly Leo stood up, crumpled up the paper that he was drawing and threw it into the paper bin. He murmured something like "Maybe now" and put out the lights. He didn't recognize that Mikey was standing there the whole time. The younger brother thought it was maybe better not to disturb Leo, as he seemed to go sleeping anyway. He decided to go back to bad, too. However, the picture of the monster didn't go out of his head as he closed his eyes.

Night two

Raphael woke up. It was three a.m. Usually he had a good sleep. They had gone on patrol this night and headed home at about 1 a.m. On such nights he normally slept very well because the fatigue was overwhelming him. Not this night though. He heard a strange noise outside of his room and wondered who was up. Should he go and see? He was tired, but he had a strange feeling that he should take a look where the noise was coming from.

He went outside to the lair, however, there was nobody to see. It was dark too, but Raphael could see a light coming from their gym room. The door was slightly open, but not wide enough to see what's going on inside Who the hell would practice at 3 a.m.? Master Splinter had told them that they would have a bigger lesson today, so it would be better to catch as much sleep as possible.

It was no use though. He sighed, went downstairs in direction of the gym door. He opened it slightly, just enough to glance inside.

He froze. It was Leo. He was practicing indeed. Obviously, he had been there for a while because he was sweating and in the middle of his movements. This was nothing too unusual because Raphael knew that Leo practiced wide beyond bedtime hours. However, it was kind of creepy how Leo kicked the punching bag.

Punch. "You", Leo breathed heavily, "can't", kick "get them". Punch again. Leo took a small break, but went on again to bashing onto the bag quite aggressively, repeating the phrase.

Raphael had seen enough. He shut the door quietly, so that Leo couldn't hear him, and moved back. He knew that Leo had insomnia sometimes, but he didn't know that it was this bad. Also, he wasn't used in his aggressive punching. This was usually his own part. Strange enough the phrase "You can't get them". What did Leo mean? Who can't get who? Raphael went back to his back, still the echo of Leo's punches in his head. They followed him until he finally got a rather restless sleep.

Night three

Donatello was in his laboratory, forgetting the time as always. It was about one a.m. He was about to repair their car because it has been broken since their last fight with the foot ninjas. He sighed as he looked at the watch. Maybe he should go upstairs and catch some sleep.

He closed the door of his laboratory and grabbed his cup. The coffee inside was cold anyways and he decided to put it into the kitchen.

As he wanted to go over, he suddenly heard a loud noise though. Don nearly got a heart attack. It sounded as something fell on the floor and crashed. What should he do? It couldn't be a burglar because who would come into their lair and steal something? However, he had a strange feeling and instead of walking straight into the kitchen, he slowly sneaked over to look what was going on.

He nearly jumped as he saw Leo standing there. There was only the light of the kitchen table, but Don could see enough.

"Damn it" Leo murmured and bent down. Obviously, he had wanted to make a cup of tea and the cup fell on the floor, which was the crashing sound that Donatello had heard earlier. Don frowned. Leo wasn't a person that curse, and he wasn't clumsy to just drop a cup. Actually, Don couldn't remember that Leo had dropped something before. While Donatello was thinking of helping his brother, something held him back. He had the feeling that Leo wanted to be alone. As Leo had finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, Don saw that his elder brother was now just standing there., As he observed him further, Leo looked down at his hands. They were shaking quite violently. "No tea then", Leo sighed. Don frowned again because he thought that Leo would maybe go back to bed then. However, he went straight to the gym room, shutting the door. Not knowing that Don had observed him, Leo went on with his practice, and the phrase "You can't get them" were following Donatello this night, too.

Day four

Leo went downstairs. He was exhausted. It was the fourth day of his insomnia. He had three nights without more than one or two hours of sleep, and even for him this wasn't enough. He knew that he had to sleep, but he just couldn't. He sighed as he already heard some noise coming from the kitchen.

"You are supposed to make the coffee" Raphael just said, not in the nicest tone. The words were for Donatello, who was standing in front of the kitchen table.

"I know, sorry" Don just said. Truth was, he couldn't really sleep after he had seen Leo this morning. He knew that something was very wrong, but didn't know how to speak it out. "I'll make it right now, okay? Just calm down".

"Don't tell me to calm down" Raphael murmured. He still had the picture of Leo punching and kicking in his head.

Said turtle sat down at the kitchen table beside Mikey. The youngest brother took a closer look on his brother. "Morning Leo, slept well?" As he asked him, Mikey knew it was a mistake. However, sometimes his mouth is faster than his brain.

Leo just nodded though and didn't show anything. "Yeah… I hope you, too." He yawned slightly and suddenly felt the look of all three brothers onto him. "So, what about the coffee?", he asked Donatello.

He needed the coffee. Usually, he was more for tea, but Leo thought that coffee might help to survive the day. He didn't want to think about the night yet.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Raphael asked. He too took a closer look on his brother. He had shadows under his eyes and nearly everything was screaming for some sleep.

"Oh, I thought that maybe it isn't that bad. I should… try new things". Leo said. He didn't like where the conversation was going to. He just wanted to have his coffee and be left alone.

"Oh, you mean like… doing practice at 1 a.m.?" Donatello asked. He couldn't take it anymore. Leo had a problem and everybody could see it. They had to do something about it.

Leo blinked. How did they find out? He had tried to be as quiet as possible. He was taken aback.

"Wh…What do you mean?", he asked. He knew that acting stupid would lead to nothing, but it was worth the try.

"Come on Leo, I've been watching you yesterday mornin'", Raphael spoke. "The punching bag had seen better days after your lesson."

Leo looked up. "I… wanted to practice a bit. You know, to get better…"

"And…" Mikey said quietly. He held something in his hands. It was a paper. The younger brother smoothed it out and put it onto the table. "What's about this?"

Leo starred at the paper. He didn't want to see it but there it was starring back. The red eyes, the teeth. He couldn't speak, sweat pearls were forming on his head.

"Leo, for heaven's sake" Don started. He touched Leo slightly on the shoulder. He frowned as Leo jerked a bit, but allowed him to rest his hand there. "This can't be healthy. You have to tell us if something is wrong or…"

"No." Leo suddenly stood up. He looked around. "I can't let you be part of this. I'm sorry" Leo wanted to turn around and leave. However, he felt a strong hand holding him back. It was Raphael.

"Leo, Don's right" Raph said as calmly as he could. "You've gotta tell us what's goin' on. You can tell us. We wanna help ya."

"Yeah bro. I don't know what this is, but I don't like it and I can't stand see you like that" Mikey said, pointing at the picture.

Leo starred at it again. He just wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't. He let himself lead to his seat and sat down again. He breathed heavily.

"It's…" he finally started. His voice was shakier than he had thought. "I have nightmares, ok?"

There it was out. Don frowned again, didn't want to interrupt his brother. He had already had this thought, but wasn't sure enough to speak it out. At least Leo is about to talk about it.

"It's the same nightmare every night. This monster comes, it takes you guys and I can't do anything about it. I'm…" Leo stopped shortly, his hands starting to shake again. "I'm so weak, sorry. I always try to help you, but it's too strong for me. He always gets you and…"

"Stop it right there" Raphael interrupted him. He couldn't stand it. "You ain't weak. You're strong. You always help us, no matter what. And you know this."

Leo looked up. He had thought his brothers would laugh at him. "But it is taking you every night. I can't do anything. I just stand there and watch".

"But Leo, it's just a dream" Donatello said, putting his hand on Leos shoulder again. This time, Leo didn't jerk. "You and we know that he can't get us. Because you are always here to help us, and you have done a real good job until today." He smiled at his brother.

"And you know what we are doing with this?" Mikey took the paper, ripped it in pieces. "See? Now it's dead and can't come again."

"You think so?" Leo wasn't so sure. "Sure bro. And if it dares to come back, we'll help you and fight against it together", Mikey answered, his eyes for once seemed to be serious.

Leo got a bit calmer. He tried to smile. "Thanks guys. I… I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. I thought I could handle this alone." It was true. However, he now knew how stupid it was.

"No prob. Just keep in ya mind, we're family and we help each other", Raphael said. "And now, I think it's time for some coffee".

So, what do you think? I hope you liked it. Let me know in the comments or PM me if you have any ideas or questions for other stories.

Cupcake01