A/N: This is the LAST CHAPTER! Yay me! It finished! I told ya all I'd get this done today! Okay. Something to say: I didn't know how the whole poison thing worked until Donny and Leo talked it out okay? Donny figured it out not me! I'm not smart enough for that! :(

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own 'em...what of it...?

Leonardo knew he was going to live when his heart stopped trying to break through his plastron. He didn't feel so hot anymore so he was able to sleep off most of his weariness. Soon enough he was sitting up and starring off at the door to Donatello's lab. He knew his brother was still in there but Leonardo was too tired to walk over there. And then there was that other reason…

Whatever happened to Donatello was only made worse by Leonardo's own stupidity. They shouldn't have gotten trapped at all! The door had been open for a good five minutes! Certainly enough time to carry an injured brother to safety! He was a complete idiot to get himself caught like that. He's supposed to be good at sensing a trap like that. Why didn't he see it?!

"How're ya feelin'?" Raphael asked from next to him on the couch. Leonardo glanced back at him before returning his gaze to Donatello's lab door.

"Better," He said for an answer.

"Can ya fill me in on what happened?" Raphael asked next. Leonardo dug into a small compartment attached to his belt and tossed the object to Raph with no explanation. It was the letter the Foot gave him about Donatello's whereabouts. He didn't know why he kept it. After he read the address, he could've chucked it. He wanted to so many times on the trip there. Why had he kept it?

"So it was da Foot," Raphael thought out loud, "I thought so. They lured ya inta a trap. Ya shoulda told us anyway, yanno? It woulda saved us the trouble."

"I know," Leonardo whispered, "I'm sorry about that, but I didn't want them killing Donny. I had no choice."

"Ya worried 'bout 'im?" Raphael asked next. Leonardo lowered his eyes and sighed.

"Of course I am," He said. He just couldn't face his brother right now; not yet.

"Ya wanna see 'im?" His brother asked, "I can help ya walk there."

"No, it's alright," Leonardo said as his eyes slowly returned to the door and he laid his head on his folded arms over the armrest of the couch. "I can wait until I'm ready to go myself. I just don't feel up to it yet."

"He's prob'bly awake, yanno?" Raphael said as he laid a hand on Leonardo's shoulder. There was a brief silence between them after that before Raphael sighed. "There's more to it then that, ain't there?"

"Hmm?" Leonardo asked, absently without moving.

"There's anotha reason ya don't wanna see Donny," He repeated, "What is it?"

"He could've died because of my choice," Leonardo muttered low as he lowered his eyes again.

"Ya did all ya could, right?"

"No," Leonardo sighed before finally turning towards his brother, "I could've gotten him out before the door closed on us. I had enough time. I should've done it. I was an idiot." He slumped back in the couch and closed his eyes in self-hatred.

"Why didn't ya?" Raphael asked, surprising Leonardo, who had not expected that response. The eldest opened his eyes and stared at the younger for a minute before forming a response.

"I checked to see if he was alright…" He said slowly, "I…I guess I was too busy worrying about his condition to remember the danger…"

"That is not a crime, my son," Master Splinter said from beside the couch next to Leonardo. Both brothers turned to look at the old rat in unison. "You were worried about your brother and our enemy counted on that weakness. It is understandable. I do not fault you for that. You will learn from this mistake and I trust you to be more aware if the situation arises again. Failure in only a lesson to be learned from and not a crime to be punished for."

"Hai, sensei," Leonardo sighed. He was still unsure, but he could not doubt his sensei's word. His lowered eyes caught movement and he looked up to see Raphael standing in front of him with his hand held out for him.

"You should see Donny," Raphael said, "You two haven't laid eyes on each other since we rescued you. Don doesn't even know whatcha did fer 'im." Leonardo just stared at the offered hand, solemnly. His brother grunted in annoyance before grabbing the elder's hand and pulling it over his shoulder. Leonardo briefly stumbled in his weakened state before Raphael managed to stabilize him with and arm hooked around his carapace.

"Do I hafta carry ya?" Raphael asked with a taunting raised brow. Leonardo glared at him through narrowed eyes before firmly shaking his head. "Then let's go." Raphael stepped forward slowly to give the elder time to try to keep up. His muscles were completely worn out and he could barely keep his feet under him. With his brother's firm grip, Leonardo was at least unafraid of falling over. He didn't have time to glare at the younger as he wished so he instead kept narrowed eyes to the floor.

It took a while before they reached the open lab door and Raphael patiently helped Leonardo in. Inside, Michelangelo was acting bedside companion to a conscious Donatello. Upon seeing the newly arrived visitors, he quickly stood and helped the eldest into the room. Leonardo fell back heavily into the Mikey's vacated seat as soon as he was brought over. He laid his head back and sighed. His energy was already spent and he barely went anyway. He wondered if he would ever get all his old energy back. He didn't notice as Michelangelo and Raphael left the room.

"Leo?" A pained voice asked. Leonardo opened one sleepy eye and angled his head against the backrest to better see Donatello's curious brown eyes watching him from the cot. "You look tired."

"Blame Raph," Leonardo said, letting his eye close. "I was perfectly fine before he decided to practically drag me here."

"I was worried about you," The younger said, "When I heard you got poisoned and then Mikey's terrified scream. He said your heart stopped shortly, but that you were going to be fine. I hated not being able to move from this cot. I wanted to see you."

"You don't have to worry about me," Leonardo said, solemnly, "I'm just real worn out right now. I can't even think about ninjitsu without yawning." Almost as if to prove this, he did yawn. "I'm so exhausted, I just wanna sleep…"

"Well prolonged Tachycardia can do that," Donatello said with a hint of amusement in his voice overwhelming the pain. "Your heart needed to get the energy from somewhere to keep of that rapid heart rate." Leonardo's eye opened at the humor in his brother's voice.

"What's so funny, Donatello?" He asked, sternly, with a twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Just the thought of you actually resting when you should instead of training restlessly despite doctor's orders." Donatello said, "I never thought I'd hear you act as a cooperative patient."

"You should know then that it's my desire not to embarrass myself that's holding me back." Leonardo said, "I'd prefer it if no one saw me make a face-plant from just trying to stand."

"At least you're resting…"

"Well, I'm trying to at any rate," He said before sighing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Donatello asked. This time Leonardo forced both eyes open to look at his brother.

"It's my own fault I got poisoned." He said, "Shredder set up a trap for me with you as bait and I fell for it. We both could've died and your pulse was already so weak when I found you. I failed big time. I'm sorry, bro."

"Don't be," Donatello said with narrowed eyes, "If I hadn't let the Foot gang up on me in the first place there would be no bait."

"Does that mean you finally remember what happened to you?" Leonardo asked with widened eyes. He remembered Raphael saying something about Donatello not remembering anything when he had been mostly unconscious.

"I know how it started…" The younger said as his eyes drifted away from Leonardo. The eldest waited patiently: now fully alert. "I should've called for back-up when I first noticed them. There were so many but I thought I could lose them. I didn't even think of calling you guys until it was too late. By the time I was blockaded in the junkyard, I knew I would need help. Someone had turned on an electrical disrupter so my shell cell was rendered useless. And then…" Donatello winced noticeably as his least bandaged hand wrapped around his plastron unconsciously, "…The crushing... I don't know what it was – I never got a good look at it – but when it hit me… I remembered that first. The pain… It was unbearable and I must've blacked out. That's all I remember visibly. I think I know when I was placed in the refrigerated room and when you came in. I remember slipping into darkness momentarily before I was brought back by…something. I think…I think you fell on me. Then Mikey and Raph came in I think. But all that time, it was only feelings or incomprehensible voices. I don't think I'll ever remember that part fully."

"I didn't even know you were aware of anything then." Leonardo said, "You looked dead. I had to check to make sure you were even alive." He lowered his head and clenched his fist. "The door was open for about five minutes but I didn't even think about getting you out of there until we were locked in. Then the poisonous gas… If you hadn't been barely breathing, you would have been in the same condition as me. It doesn't even look like it affected you at all but I think it did make your pulse slower in the room."

"I think it did affect me," Donatello said, "I shouldn't have been so tired before. I think that was a symptom of the poison. I also think the cold may have produced the opposite effects based on my limited knowledge."

"You may be right because I was tired in the room." Leonardo said, "More so then I should've been due to the cold. My heart may have been slower too, but I can't remember so well."

"So without the could…" Donatello's face turned thoughtful, "Your heart rate increased. Maybe the poison confused your brain so your heart pumped twice as fast as it should to make up for the deficiency the poison and cold caused together and forgot the normal rate or it just couldn't regulate itself for some reason. It needed the digitalis to right it for a time before it could find the right tempo needed."

"I never thought of it like that…" Leonardo said, slowly, "Does that mean it was the effect of the poison's toll on my body but not the poison itself that almost killed me?"

"It makes sense, but I may never know for sure." Donatello said, "With us differing symptoms even if we inhaled different quantities would suggest my hypothesis is correct. It doesn't matter anymore as we're both okay now. I already feel a little better. The pain's numbed down a bit. I just have to wait for my bones to heal enough for me to walk again."

"And I need to sleep," Leonardo said as he laid back in his chair. "Hopefully my energy will return soon, but I'm too tired to even be impatient about it." Donatello chuckled as Leonardo finally allowed himself to fall asleep. It had been a very long day. There was a smile on his face as all the tension of the day melted away. Everything was going to be okay. There would be no deaths today, though there had been a few close calls. Well, what do you expect from a family of mutants living on the fringe of society where every day could be their last? That's just the life of four teenage mutant ninja turtles and their rat sensei.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! I know the last few sentences are sappy but that was the mood I was in while writing it.