Liability

Chapter 15

I am so so so sorry for taking so long to update, I've had such little inspiration and I've been busy with school. I hope you enjoy! This may or may not be the last chapter.

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Raph never had much regard for how his violent, hot-headed tendencies affected other people. But he honestly didn't want to hurt his brothers. Seeing Mikey wrapped up in bandages made him shudder. Mikey's face was pale, adorned by freckles that stood out more than ever.

"Mikey!" Raph's voice thundered as he tackled Mikey into a violent hug.

"How dare you almost die!" He shouted, head buried in the crook of Mikey's neck.

Mikey let out a small giggle. "Raaaph."

"I'm s- serious!"

Mikey smiled softly at the crack in Raph's gruff voice.

"Mikey I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you-" He broke off with a muffled sob.

That's the scene Leo and Donnie walked in on, much to their wonder; Raph holding Mikey tightly as he cried into his shoulder.

"I was scared," Mikey admitted, rubbing Raph's shoulder comfortingly.

Raph lifted his head to peer into Mikey's eyes.

"I thought I was gonna die, and that I would leave you guys and- well, it was really scary, but I was more scared than Shredder would get you guys... It's the scariest thing I've ever experienced. Shell, even squirrelenoids come second!" He paused with a short laugh.

"But then I had this weird dream with Master Splinter, and he told me that I wasn't going to die and I had to go back to you guys... "

"Oh, Mikey."

"You're okay now, we're here."

"Thank you, Mikey, for saving our lives."

"And for being our Otōto."

Mikey sniffled, wiping at his eyes with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"I love you, dudes!"

"We love you too Mikey," Leo smiled as they went in for a tight group hug.

"We love you too."

They stayed huddled for a while, basking in the feeling of being close to one another. When they finally pulled away, Leo was looking down uncomfortably.

"Mikey... We still need to talk about your-" Leo paused. "Problem."

"Oh. Right..."

"Look, I don't know what goes on in that head of yours, but I want to make sure that it's never anything bad again."

The smile Mikey gave him was like the sun after rain. The three older turtles stared down at the youngest fondly.

"I accept your help."

Donnie beamed. "I promise you, Mikey, I will do everything in my power to help you get better."

"And Mikey," Raph fiddled with the sheets draped over Mikey's legs. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. We all are. So... don't be scared, you mean the world to us and we'll never give up on you!"

"I will- I will!" Mikey nodded fervently.

"I'll try to be better too. If I ever feel bad I'll try to talk to someone instead of bottling it in."

"That's good to hear, Mikey."

"Can we have pizza now?"

Leo rolled his eyes, softly smiling. "Yes, Mikey."

"Oh and... Can we invite April, I want to say sorry."

Donnie quickly nodded. "I'll call her."

"Okaaay!"

April said she would pick up the pizza on the way to the lair when Donnie called her to come over. Mikey had been carefully moved to the couch, watching a random show that came on T.V. as they waited.

They hadn't told April anything that had happened so the brothers weren't surprised when April dropped the pizza box, throwing a hand over her mouth.

"Oh my God, Mikey what happened!"

Mikey smiled sheepishly, lowering his head in an unnatural silence.

"Um, well, I got stabbed, but I'm ok now..."

She stumbled for a second, reaching down to retrieve the pizza.

She smacked the box down on the table rather harshly. "Who did that?"

"Shredder." The name dripped from Leo's tongue like venom.

"I swear I'll give him a piece of my mind for hurting Mikey! He-" She stopped herself and looked down at Mikey.

She leaned closer to him, lowering her voice. "Hey, did everything work out with your brothers?"

"I was confused when you came over for such a short time."

Mikey fiddled with the orange mask that was threaded between his fingers. He looked down, tears building in his eyes.

"April, I'm so sorry!" He cried. He wanted to throw himself at her and give her a huge hug, but he knew that he couldn't risk reopening his wounds.

"Woah, Woah, Mikey, what are you sorry for?"

"I was the one who took your pills..."

She blinked. "What?''

"I'm sorry, April, I knew it was wrong and I still did it and-"

Leo quickly set a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"He was the reason your Xanax was missing," Donnie explained.

Her eyebrows knit. "Mikey, why would you do that!"

Mikey cried harder. "I'm sorry, I can- I can find a way to make it up to you!"

"No, Mikey that's not what I meant," she sighed. "You could have gotten addicted or overdosed, or both!"

Donnie winced. "He did."

"What?!"

"I just- They made me feel calm, and at the time I didn't care if I died..."

"Mikey–"

"Don't worry now April, my bros are gonna help me get better."

She smiled, tears glimmering in her eyes. "I'm glad Mikey, I'm glad," she choked at the effort to not cry.

"How about we eat and watch a movie?" Leo suggested.

Raph nodded and they all settled down around Mikey. Donnie made sure to give Mikey the first slice of pizza before taking his own and letting everyone else pass the box around until it was discarded on the floor.

By the time the movie ended, April had to leave. She gave Mikey a gentle hug and pat his head before waving to the others.

The four turtles put in another movie and got some extra blankets as they huddled together on the couch. Mikey fought to keep his eyes open, but the feelings of warmth and the blur of sound from the T.V. quickly lulled him to sleep.

Splinter stood, watching his sons fondly. He was glad he'd gotten through to his youngest, and he was so grateful that he had taken in the four little turtles so long ago. His life really wouldn't have been worth anything without them.

"I owe you my life, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and little Michelangelo."