Unexpected Gift

Chap 23

Leo heard a soft knock on his door.

"Don." He thought. Only his genius brother knocked like that.

"Leo? It's me, Don. Can I come in?" Don called.

"Yeah, come in." Leo said.

Don entered and closed the door behind him. Leo stayed in his curled position, tears still falling down.

"Hey bro. How are you?" Don asked hesitantly.

"Do I have to answer that?" Leo smiled sadly.

"I'm so sorry. Raph's such a jerk." Don sighed.

"Don..." Leo started.

"Yeah?"

"Am I... weak?" Leo asked with a shaky voice .

"What? No! You're not weak." Don sat behind his brother on the bed.

"But I let the Foot catch me and... and do this to me. I... I couldn't..." Leo sobbed.

"It's not your fault, Leo." Don rubbed his brother's shell, trying to comfort him.

"Why Raph hates me so much... Why does he hate my baby so much?" Leo cried.

"He doesn't hate you, Leo! He's just... concerned." Don said, not believing what he had said.

"But I can feel it! He hates me and my baby... especially my baby!" Leo curled up, sobbing uncontrollably.

The genius turtle helped Leo sit up; the blue masked ninja took advantage of his new position to bury his face on his brother's shoulder, soaking it with his tears. Don wished Raph was there in that moment so he could kick the shell out of him for what he had done.

-

Meanwhile, Splinter had taken Raph to his room for a talk. The old rat paced in front of his son, who was kneeling on the floor, his head lowered in shame.

"Raphael, what you have done tonight will affect Leonardo for a long time." Splinter started. He already knew what happening to Raph: fear.

"I know, Sensei." Raph said.

"Did you realize the consequences before you had that talk with him?" Splinter asked.

"Master, I just wanted to... I don't know. I don't know what I was trying to tell him; I don't want him to die because of... y'know... what the Foot did to him. I think... I just said all that because..." Raph said.

"Yes, my son?" Splinter encouraged his son to keep talking. The red masked turtle sighed heavily and continued.

"Because... I'm scared, scared of losing him. I didn't want to offend him... or his... his..." Raph stuttered.

Splinter smiled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I understand how are you feeling, my son. I am also worried, but it was Leonardo's decision to keep the baby and your brother Donatello, will not let anything bad to happen to Leonardo and his baby; you are very aware of that, my son. Leonardo is very responsible. He will be a good father, but that does not mean he will stop caring about you and your brothers, Raphael. He loves the family and now the baby is part of this family and as Leonardo said: the baby is innocent of what the Foot tried to do with him." Splinter said, trying to make some sense to Raph's mind.

The latter stayed in silence.

"You will learn to love Leonardo's child someday. Take your time, my son. Now, I believe you owe your brother an apology." Splinter said, patting his son's shoulder.

"Yes, Sensei." The red masked turtle left his father's room and moved to the living room. He paced from left to right, trying to find the right words for a proper apology, but Raph didn't feel comfortable with the situation yet. He couldn't love that "mistake," but he couldn't ignore it either. What to do then?

-

Back in Leo's room, things hadn't changed too much. It seemed that his tears didn't want to stop coming out even though Leo tried to hold them back; the words still haunted his mind, hurting him, torturing him... weak... bastard... He could still hear those ones.

Don couldn't stand seeing his brother like this and just because of Raph's stupidity. The genius turtle broke the one arm hug, earning a little growl of protest from Leo.

"Leo, please. Stop crying." Don started, taking his brother by the shoulders.

"I'm trying, but... those words..." Leo sobbed.

"Leo, listen. You're not weak and your baby is not... well... what that hothead said." Don started, and wiped a few tears from his brother's eyes. "I was shocked with your decision of keeping the baby even knowing this was going to be risky and after what you told about the Foot and where the baby was located, I thought you would get rid of it, but you didn't! You didn't give up! That's not being weak, Leo!" Don smiled, pulling his brother into a hug. "You're the most admirable, strongest brother ever. The baby is a lucky one to have a father like you." The genius turtle continued.

Leo sniffled and smiled, tightening the embrace. His younger brother's words soothed him a little; at least made the pain more bearable. A knock on the door could be heard.

"Don? Leo?" Raph called.

"What's he doing here?" Don muttered, still angry at his red masked brother.

"What do you want?" Don said in a serious voice when he opened the door.

"I, eh..." Raph said, a little surprised at his most gentle brother's behavior.

"Let him come in, Donny." Leo said. Don looked at him with an "are you sure?" face. Leo nodded. The genius let Raph come inside the room, but stayed close just in case things went bad again.

"Leo, I guess you know why I came here. This is not gonna be easy and you know it." Raph rubbed his arm absentmindedly.

"I'm still... not sure about... you and this..." Raph continued. This was the hardest apology ever.

"Raph, say it already or leave." Don said impatiently.

"Don, please." Leo interfered. The genius turtle let out a sigh of annoyance; he was really angry at Raph... but they would solve things later.

"It's ok, Raph. I'm not gonna force you to accept my baby but... I expect you respect my decision." Leo said.

"It's not that I don't wanna accept your baby, Leo." Raph interrupted.

Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing: his baby, Leo's baby! Not a "bastard" like he had called it some hours ago.

Raph continued. "It's your baby, it's family now. I won't deny it's a lil hard for me to get used to this and... well... I guess there's no excuse for what I said but... I'm really, really sorry. I mean it." The red masked turtle ended.

Leo stayed in silence, repeating the words in his mind. Don waited for a reaction... good or bad.

Leo smiled and pulled his brother into a hug. Raph froze for a moment, but returned the embrace. It felt a little awkward because the belly was in the middle, but he was glad Leo had forgiven him.

Don smiled as well; if his brother was happy, so was he.