Leonardo awoke slowly and against his will. It felt simultaneously like he had been sleeping forever and like he hadn't slept in ages. All he wanted was to sleep longer, but the pull of consciousness became irresistible and he gradually became aware of his surroundings. He was in the lab, which wasn't too surprising. He often dragged himself home wounded only to collapse in the lab and patch himself up as best he could before passing out. He shifted slightly, wincing as the movement pulled at his stitches, and began to sit up carefully. His eyes slipped closed as a wave of dizziness hit him, but he rode it out calmly before opening them again. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the slumbering figure next to the cot.

It took five full minutes of staring for Leonardo to actually believe what he was seeing. It was as if the five years had never happened; Don sitting in his customary spot as he waited for one of them to wake up after a battle gone wrong. He had witnesses the scene countless times before, and right now it looked exactly the same, except for the fact that Don looked a little older and much less toned. Leo peeled back the bandage covering the wound in his side and smiled wryly at the neat, straight row of stitches. Yep, definitely the work of Donatello. Even after years of practice Leo had never been able to give himself stitches that didn't look like they belonged on some horror film reject. He replaced the gauze before leaning back against the wall, exhausted. He recognized the symptoms of recent blood loss, although he suspected that he had received a transfusion from his brother since he was awake at all.

He took a deep breath, steeling himself against the rising nausea – which if he were honest he knew was as much from anxiety as it was from blood loss – before pushing himself to his feet and making his slow way out of the lab. The wound itself was manageable, only causing a pinch in his side as he walked, and he found that once the initial vertigo had passed he was able to move fairly normally. He went straight to the kitchen, downing a glass of water and easing himself into the one existing kitchen chair. He rubbed his rough hands over his face, thinking vaguely that he should probably wake his brother before he woke up on his own and had a panic attack.

He wasn't prepared for the voice that broke through his thoughts, and for the second time since waking up he nearly had a heart attack. "Leo? You're up?"

It took him a moment to even realize that it wasn't the voice he was expecting, and as soon as he recovered from the shock he whirled around, ignoring the pull at his stitches. "Michelangelo?" he rasped, his voice sounding even rougher than usual. He honestly hadn't believed that Donatello would be able to convince either of the others to come, especially not if he was still alive.

Mike hung back by the door as though unsure of himself, but his smile was genuine. "Hey, Leo. You really scared me, bro. I thought I wasn't gonna get the chance to see you again."

Bitterness welled up within him, unbidden, and before he could stop himself Leo snapped, "Like you ever wanted to in the first place."

Michelangelo winced, looking at the floor and rubbing at his arm awkwardly. "Okay, I definitely deserved that. Look, man, I'm sorry—"

"Forget it, Mike. I shouldn't have said that." He brushed past him, shivering as their shoulders made brief contact. All he really wanted to do was hug his baby brother until he couldn't breathe, but years of hurt and abandonment issues prevented him from even smiling in greeting. Instead he mumbled, "I'm glad you came," as he made his way stiffly back toward the lab. He could feel Mike's eyes boring into the back of his skull as he walked, but he kept his eyes trained straight ahead.

Forcing down another wave of nausea – that he was fairly certain was entirely from anxiety and had nothing to do with his wound – he laid a hand on Donatello's shoulder and shook him gently. The younger turtle startled awake instantly, his eyes darting around the room wildly before settling on his face. Several emotions flashed across his eyes – surprise, joy, and a dash of guilt that gave Leo some perverse pleasure. He had only a moment to process these things before Don was on his feet, pulling Leo into a rough embrace and murmuring a breathless, "Thank god." Leo hugged him back hesitantly with his good arm, wincing as Don jostled both new and old wounds. Don soon backed off, taking a step back and frowning deeply. "How could you do that to me, Leo?"

Leo frowned back in confusion. "Do what?"

"What do you think? You literally tricked me into coming here, knowing I was going to find you dead or dying. I know I've been a lousy brother for the last few years, but if that was some kind of twisted payback it wasn't funny."

The bitterness returned. He tried to quash it, but it had become the defining part of his personality and there was no denying it now. "I didn't think you'd care all that much."

"You didn't think I'd…. That's not fair. I never stopped caring about you. About any of you."

This wasn't what Leo had wanted. He had fantasized about having his brothers back for years, and it had never gone so badly. When he had finally let go of those dreams, he had truly given up hope of ever talking things out with them, either rationally or otherwise. He really had expected to be dead before Don's arrival, and if he'd realized this would be the outcome he didn't think he would have called him at all. But he'd opened the can of worms, and he had to deal with it now. "It's fine. I get it." He felt a sudden and irrational instinct to leave the lab, like he was once again intruding into Don's space. He shifted uncomfortably before speaking loud enough that Mike would hear him out in the main room. "I appreciate the two of you coming. I really do. When it gets dark I'll take you topside and show you what we're up against. Until then get as much rest as you can."

Don spoke first, protesting, "You should give your wound more time to heal. We can wait a few days—"

Mike cut him off, barging into the lab behind him. Leo suddenly felt very claustrophobic. "It's not just the two of us, dude. Raph came too."

Leo's heart hammered in his ears, and the dizziness from before came back with a vengeance. Don must have seen him blanch, because he looked ready to catch him at a moment's notice. Leo turned slowly, his wide eyes meeting Mike's. "He did?" He was panicking, he could feel it. He couldn't face Raphael, face his anger and hatred and blame. It would be the end of him.

Mike's own eyes widened, obviously seeing his brother's distress. "He came willingly. He didn't even know you'd been hurt. Which may have made things worse, but it may have made them better. It's a good thing, trust me."

Leo brushed past Mike into the common area, trying to control his breathing. All four of them were under the same roof again; he should be elated. Why did he feel like he was suffocating? Without another word he left the lair, slamming the door behind him.