Memories Ch 1

With the sun beating down on them, the two eldest brothers began their sparing match. Leo had stopped using the cane for a few weeks now and was determined to get back into a routine with the activity he loved the most.

From the cool shady spot of the porch, Mikey watched avidly as his oldest brothers bowed to each other before lunging with their fists and weapons. It was nice to see his brothers get along so well. The youngest had always hated it when they fought constantly back home, but he'd noticed that since coming to the farmhouse Leo and Raph had become much closer. Almost as close as they were when they were younger. The youngest smiled as Raph helped up Leo, who had been tripped by his immediate younger. It was a shame that this newfound closeness had come from such a tragic event, but he would take it however it came.

The youngest watched his brothers for a few more minutes before he started to get bored, his short attention span craving something more interesting. Turning around, the orange cladded turtle went back inside the farmhouse to see if he could find anything to do, or someone to keep him entertained.
He walked to the entrance of the living room when he heard the raised voices of its two occupants. He peeked his head around the door to see Casey and Donnie. The TV was on, an indication that they were trying to get along, but it appeared this had gone south and the two were currently arguing about a certain red headed teen. Mikey could understand why both were determined to win her affection. Even though he didn't feel the way they did, he would still admit that April was really pretty and very smart. But he really wished they wouldn't argue constantly about it. Leo was going to have a fit if he heard them arguing again, he'd already spoken to them about it messing up team dynamics and how it made April feel uncomfortable.

Rolling his baby blue eyes, Mikey briefly thought about going into the kitchen to say Hi to Ice Cream Kitty, but knew that the best way to drown out the sounds of those two idiots arguing was to go upstairs. After climbing the stairs he went to the bedroom that he shared with Donnie and leaped onto the bed with a loud thud.

He kept fidgeting, first lying on his shell and then his plastron, continually tossing and turning. He thumped his head on his pillow in frustration, only to recoil back rubbing his now sore forehead. Reaching under his pillow, Mikey found the worn photo album that he had managed to grab during the invasion. He smiled sadly at the cracking brown leather binding. He thought that it had been the victim of a Krrang laser before he swiped it, as although it was worn originally, it was not to this extent. Still it brought back fond memories.

"Man I was so lucky to have found this," Mikey mumbled quietly. He stared at the cover which read 'Family Album' a moment more then opened it to the first page.

When they were young turtle tots Sensei never had a camera to take any pictures, but he did his level best at drawing black and white portraits of them. That is whenever they stayed still long enough for him to do it. The first few pages consisted of a portrait each, two to a page, and then one of all four of them when they were sleeping, probably the only time that they weren't all bouncing around with seemingly unlimited energy.

After the turtles seventh mutation day, Donnie had been able to find the remains of a digital camera and was able to fix it up so that they would be able to take fairly high quality photos. It was't HD, but it was better than before. Sensei had immediately gotten the four together to take a group shot. It was a bit blurry, but you could tell who was who.

Mikey spent the next few minutes casually flipping through the photos before reaching the final photo they had put in before the invasion. Smiling sadly and tears starting to form in his eyes, Mikey stared at the photo of himself, his brothers and their father. Splinter was standing tall with one hand resting on Leo's shoulder and the other behind his back. Leo looked very proud, also trying to stand up tall like his father. His arms were crossed in what he probably assumed was a good leader pose, since he used it quite often in their portraits, and was smiling happily. Donnie was standing next to them, a dorky toothy smile on his face as well as a faint blush dusting his cheeks. He had one hand up in a waving gesture with the other also behind his shell. Raph was kneeling on one knee in front of Leo, leaning slightly to the side as Mikey had slung an arm around him. The red-cladded brother had a smirk on his face, probably the closest he would allow himself to get to something tender in public. Mikey on the other hand was grinning broadly, his other arm sprawling out in a big wave.

Seeing his family whole and healthy brought tears to baby blue eyes, especially since he'd been having nightmares about their father. Every night this week he'd been subjected to the horrific scene of Splinter and Shredder fighting, and each night it ended a different way, but they shared one similarity: their father gone.

A quiet knock resounded through the room and Mikey was quick to stuff the photo album back under the pillow and hastily wipe the tears from his eyes. He wasn't sure how his brothers would react if they saw the album, and was afraid that if they reacted badly someone could end up damaging it. Right now it was the only thing he had to help him remember the happy times.

"Come in!" He called, mentally cursing at how his voice broke slightly. He cleared his throat to remedy this and watched as Leo entered.

"Hey Mikey, what are you doing up here?" The eldest asked, a frown forming when he saw the redness in the youngest's eyes.

"Nothing, just got bored and didn't wanna listen to D and Case going at it again,"
"Again, really?" Leo asked, a tired sigh escaping. He was getting tired of telling those two to knock it off.

Mikey just shrugged, plastering on a broad smile to divert the attention of the blue banded brother, "Come on, let get something to eat, I'm starving!"

Leo chuckled, "You're always hungry,"

"I'm a growing boy," He mimed being hurt by his brother's comment, but Leo just shook his head and rolled his eyes at the behaviour.

He watched as the orange cladded turtle leaped up from the bed, knocking the pillow and blanket askew, and a flash of brown caught his eye. It was hard to miss again the contrast of the white sheets on the bed.

He walked over, "What's that?" Mikey noticed where he was going and immediately grabbed his hand.

"Er it's nothing, come on we gotta get down there before the others eat everything," But Leo wasn't going to be so easily diverted.

Yanking his hand out of the youngest's grip, he quickly jumped onto the bed himself and moved the fluffy pillow to reveal the brown photo album underneath. Gaping, Leo tentatively picked up the book as if it were made of glass and turned it over in his hands.

"Where did you get this?" He asked breathlessly. Mikey looked down at the floor, hands behind his back as he kicked the ground nervously.

"From the lair,"

Eyes still fixed to the album, Leo turned around on the bed to face his brother, "You've had this the whole time?"

Mikey winced at the slight accusation, but noted that the eldest sounded more upset than angry, "Yeah,"

Finally looking up, eyes starting to brim with unshed tears, Leo got up and hugged the youngest. Truth was he'd been missing Father so much these past few days and although he had the rat's face committed to memory, it was so much better to actually see it, even if it was a picture. Startled, Mikey managed to steady himself before he ended up on his shell. He patted his eldest brother's shell awkwardly until he let go.

"This is great," Leo was smiling happily. He knew that all of them were seriously missing their father right now, and something like this would not only be a great way to remember, but would be a good way to get everyone together and talk about something positive for a change.

"Why did you hide this from us?" He asked softly, putting an arm around Mikey who was now sitting on the bed looking disquieted. He wasn't angry at the youngest, not by a long shot, but was curious, since Mikey wouldn't normally hide something like this.

"I didn't want to make anyone sad bro," He said quietly. The first few weeks there was barely a mention of their Sensei, they were either preoccupied with making the house habitable or taking care of a comatose brother. Leo smiled sympathetically.

"You won't. I think this is just what we need right now, a way to focus on the positives,"

"Yeah, but what if someone ruins it, it's all we have right now,"

"Is that what you were worried about?"

"You didn't see Raph and Donnie when we first arrived. They were both really angry and sad. I didn't want to show it to them in case they ruined it,"

Leo nodded. He might not have been awake, but that didn't mean he was naive to how his brothers might react, particularly when angry. Both had been known to do or say something they regretted later. However, they had been burying the topic of their father for long enough. April had told him that the first time it was mentioned properly was when he'd woken up and asked about him. Leo had tried to get them to open up about what had happened and entertain the idea that Splinter was still alive, which while it had been a slow process, did seem to be working. That or they were humouring him, which he didn't mind, as long as everyone kept an open mind about it.

"I'll make sure they don't," Mikey looked up to his brother, and seeing the reassuring smile he started beaming too. He took the album back from Leo and started for the door until the eldest spoke again.

"Perhaps after dinner would be best," He thought about it for a moment and agreed, it was when everyone was usually at their most relaxed. So he skipped back over to his bed to hide it back under the pillow.

Offering his hand, Mikey helped Leo stand up. Even though it had been a few weeks since he'd stopped using the cane, they were all still making sure that their brother didn't fall or slip, a bit paranoid of him re-injuring. Leo accepted it gratefully and they went back down to the lounge.

They were greeted with the sounds of continued argument. Leo rolled his eyes and slung his arm around Mikey's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He knew that the youngest despised arguments and he smiled reassuringly again. Mikey leaned into the elder's plastron, tucking his head under his chin.

"It's okay," He whispered, kissing the younger's head before moving away.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words!" The human teen exclaimed, reaching behind his back to find a hockey stick, only to find it not there. He'd forgotten that Leo had forbidden him from having them in the farmhouse except for training after the TV remote incident.

"Oh yeah?!" Donnie replied, squaring up against the human.

"Enough!" was yelled and both parties to the argument yelped in surprise, whipping round to face the eldest turtle who was standing in front, arms crossed, "You guys have got to stop, we've been over this," he said angrily.

The two looked looked at each other briefly then to the floor sheepishly. Casey scuffed his shoe against the wooden planks and Donnie rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Sorry Leo," Don apologised, Casey mumbling something similar when the purple cladded turtle elbowed him. Don also noticed Mikey looking sadly at them and walked over, putting his arm around the younger's shoulder and taking him into the kitchen.

Leo glared at the teen still standing in front of him briefly then sighed, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past to go outside. He found Raph sitting on the swing between the farmhouse and the barn. Walking over, he greeted the younger turtle with a wave and plopped down next to him, revelling in the warm sun that hit his skin.

"Find him?" Leo turned to Raph and smiled. The reason he'd gone into the farmhouse in the first place was to find their youngest brother to see if he wanted to join in on the spar.

"Yeah,"

"Didn't he want to join in on the fun?" Leo smirked. Raph just wanted revenge from that morning when Mikey had somehow woken up before all of them to grab one of the roosters from the barn and use it as an alarm clock. Leo didn't mind being woken up, but then again he wasn't the one with the rooster on his head. Or rooster... droppings on his pillow.

"Nah, he had to listen to Casey and Don going at it again,"

"Again really?" Raph sighed dramatically. Leo nodded.

"Don took him into the kitchen, probably gonna make him a hot chocolate as apology,"

Raph nodded understandingly. Hot chocolate was one sure fire way to cheer up the youngest. They stayed as they were until April spotted them and came over.

"Thought you were supposed to be sparing, not sitting here sunbathing," She said huffily. Leo had sent her on a training run through the forest, Raph having set up an obstacle course of some sort beforehand. She was boiling in the sun, her red hair sticking to her face and clothes rolled up to try and cool down.

Raph smirked, "Not us who needs the training princess," April scoffed, although she didn't need to hit him with her tessen. Leo whacked him upside the head.  

"There's no such thing as enough training Raph," He chided, in a very Master Splinter like tone. Raph rubbed his now aching head and scowled. Now it was April's turn to smirk.

"How did I do?" She asked the eldest turtle. Leo looked at the time on his T-Phone.

"Not too shabby, about 23 minutes,"

"Aw" She whined, "Casey did it in 20," Leo smiled sympathetically, though had to hold in a chuckle at her reaction.

"Better luck next time sweetheart," Raph was smirking again and April knew he was mocking her, if only in a jovial way.

"If Casey asks, I did it in 15," Leo and Raph exchanged mischievous looks and giggled, both agreeing as it would be much funnier to see Casey's reaction when losing to a girl.

April attempted to plop herself down on the swing in between the turtles. However Raph had yet to finish messing with the red head and promptly closed the gap between him and his older brother, causing the teen to fall in the dirt on her behind.

The red head glared at the snort that escaped the blue banded brother before turning to pull the rude hot-head off the swing by the leg. Raph yelped and flailed about, but ended up pinned by the human teen who smirked smugly.

Leo was well and truly lost to laughter at this point, impressed by April's show of strength and use of surprise attack, though mostly just amused at Raph being bested. The red cladded turtle did his own share of glaring at the eldest. He shifted and yanked Leo off the swing as well, the older turtle tumbling down in between them.

"Whoa!" the turtle exclaimed, his arms flailing also, trying to find an anchor. On instinct he landed on his side, his leg landing first. Unfortunately, it was his bad leg. The turtle hissed when pain shot up his leg and knee.

"Oh man Leo, I didn't mean..." Raph started, but Leo held up a hand to stop him. He took a breath then sat up, patting his brother on the shoulder.

"I know, it's fine,"

"You sure, maybe Donnie should take a look,"

"If it'll stop you worrying,"

"D'ya say he was in the kitchen?"

"Yeah he..." But Leo didn't get to finish as Raph hefted him into his arms and walked towards the farmhouse.

"Raph put me down, I can walk," the elder whined. He didn't appreciate being babied, especially since he was no longer using the cane to walk around. Raph ignored him, merely tightening his hold. Leo knew this was Raph's way of making up for hurting him in the first place, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing.

The turtle didn't stop grumbling all the way until Raph set him down on the sofa, a red tint on his cheeks when he spotted Casey channel hopping on one of the armchairs. The younger immediately began fussing, grabbing a pouffe to put under his leg as well as a cushion to elevate it. He called for their resident doctor, who rushed in from the kitchen, their youngest brother in tow.

"What happened?"

"Nothing serious Don, it's not that bad," Leo assured him. Raph, shifted uncomfortably next to the sofa.

"I got a bit too rough," He admitted, not quite meeting the purple banded brother's eyes.

Donnie tsked and shook his head, but otherwise said nothing. Removing the knee pad from their injured brother, Don checked it over and found it was a bit swollen, but otherwise it didn't appear to have been badly damaged.

"Try to be more careful, you don't want to re-injure it," Raph wasn't sure if Don was talking to him or Leo, but he would make sure at least one of them would be more careful.

Casey resumed flipping the channels on the TV, still trying to find something decent to watch. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was near enough dinner time provided everyone was hungry.

"Hey Mikey what we having tonight?" The orange cladded turtle smirked knowingly.

"Pizza of course!" The human teens let out audible groans.

"We had pizza for lunch," April stated, as if that was a good enough reason to not have it again. Mikey pouted, saying they had pizza all the time at home. April rolled her eyes, "Why don't we see what else we have," The turtle reluctantly agreed and the two went into the kitchen to search.

The others settled down in the lounge to watch some TV. Donnie joined Leo on the sofa and Raph took up another armchair. When Casey continued to channel-surf, Don glared at the teen, though he curbed the jab he was about to say when Leo elbowed him in the side. Eventually Raph yelled at him to settle on a channel and they were left with some kind of sci-fi programme, much to Leo's enjoyment.

Half an hour later, April called them all into the kitchen for dinner. Raph and Donnie eyed Leo warily, but he walked steadily, if a bit smugly. They were all pleasantly surprised with the feast that had been prepared for dinner. There was indeed some pizza squares that Mikey would no doubt hog for himself, but April had made a variety of other dishes like a buffet. There was a mixture of sandwiches, crisps and salad as well as chips and cooked vegetables.

Everyone tucked in, throughly impressed with the two chefs combined effort. April explained that she and Casey would be going to the shop tomorrow to stock up and asked if anyone had any requests. Mikey immediately began to draw up an elaborate list of things he claimed was needed. April shook her head, but listened good-naturedly, gently reminding him that either the little shop they were going to didn't sell those things or they didn't have enough money to spare. The youngest pouted, but soon perked up when Leo confirmed that they were still showing their surprise after dinner.

"What surprise?" Raph asked suspicious that the self-proclaimed Prank King would be striking again.

"Well if we told you it wouldn't be a surprise would it," Mikey replied teasing, poking Raph in the plastron until the elder grabbed his finger and twisted it.

"Raph not at the table," Leo chided, said turtle rolling his eyes but obediently let go, "And don't worry it's not a prank, I think you'll enjoy this surprise,"

"Is it going to take long, I was planning on working on..." Don didn't get to finish as Mikey interrupted.

"Nooo D you have to hang out with us tonight," The youngest put on his best puppy eyed expression and cuddled up to his immediate older brother for extra effect. Donnie sighed and shook his head, no one could say no to that.

"Alright,"

"Yess!"

"Raph?" Donnie questioned, not wanting to risk being the victim of a potential prank alone.

The red cladded brother scowled momentarily, but ultimately nodded. Mikey cheered and ended up knocking the table and spilling juice and water all over.

"Mikey," Leo exclaimed. Luckily they had finished eating anyway, "Grab a cloth and clean this up, the rest of us will do the dishes," The youngest nodded and scampered off.

Leo and Raph took to washing up and drying respectively while April passed up the plates and glasses and Casey helped Mikey with the spilt drinks. When everything was washed and put away, the family went back into the lounge and settled down.

Waiting patiently for Mikey to come back downstairs, Raph and Don kept pressing Leo for information about the so-called surprise, but the eldest held fast and wouldn't budge. April took Casey with her to help make hot chocolates for them all, curious about the surprise also.

When Mikey still hadn't come down, Leo stood up and called up from the bottom of the stairs. The orange-banded brother peaked down and Leo could see the brown book clutched to his chest. He gave a reassuring nod and watched the youngest clamber down, hiding the book behind his shell and even hiding behind Leo's shell to keep their surprise concealed until they got to the sofa.

"So what's this surprise?" Raph asked, emerald eyes still darting back and forth, expecting something to drop on him. That was Mikey's favourite type of prank after all.

"I told you it's nothing bad," Leo repeated, sitting down on the sofa while Mikey remained standing behind it. He jumped over to land next to the eldest and still managed to keep the book concealed. Impressive.
With one final nudge, Mikey brought out the cracked, brown leather-bound book.