Brothers

Chapter 4

Donny stared in wonder. He was seeing a side of Leo that he had never seen before. He looked at his other two brothers and he could tell they were in just as much in shock as he was. Leo talked to Tomas in Spanish constantly throughout breakfast. Though Don knew a little Spanish, they were talking too fast for him to comprehend what they were saying. He only caught snatches of the conversation as he sipped at his coffee. His eyes narrowed as Leo laughed at something Tomas had said. Just how did these two know each other? It took quite some time before Leo could get comfortable enough to let down his guard like this. Don was really confused. Leo always had a guarded air about him as if he were expecting an attack. He had never let down his guard this much except for when he was alone with his brothers and father, even around Casey, April and Usagi he was never this relaxed! He was always expecting something to jump around the corner and attack his family. From what Donny could tell this kid seemed to be asking about their family and Leo was answering his questions but again he wasn't sure.

Donatello looked at his other two brothers to see how they were taking this new relaxed Leo. Raphael had hardly touched his food and it was the same with Michelangelo, which was rare. Don could tell that seeing Leo this relaxed with someone they didn't know unnerved his brothers as much as it did him. He cleared his throat "Leo, I think we are finished eating. Will you tells us what is going on now?"

Raph was grateful that Donatello had said something. He was about to blow his top, he had never seen Leo like this and if Raph truly admitted it, he was kind of jealous. What was so special about this kid that made Leo treat him like a younger brother? Didn't Leo know that he already had three younger brothers? They didn't need some kid coming in and ruining what they had. Weren't Mike, Don, and him enough for Leo?

Leo had glanced up at Don when he spoke. He looked at everyone before nodding. "Alright," he said, preparing himself for the long talk ahead, and the questions that would be raised. Questions, he thought with a sigh, that I'd rather not answer!

"Bros, I want you to met Tomas. He and his family helped me when I got hurt down in Central America." He figured that saying it like this would be a little easier and he might avoid questions, but he was wrong.

"What?"

"You got hurt?"

"How bad?"

"What happened?"

"Who did it?"

"Are you ok?"

"Where were you hurt?"

"Is that why you were gone so long and why you didn't write back?"

Mikey's quiet question stopped the rest of them. They all glanced at Mike, surprised at the question. Then all eyes went towards Leo. That was the real question that had been plaguing all them, why was he gone so long, and Leo would never answer, always waving them off, and if they pressed he would say the reason didn't matter, or another response, leaving them with more questions than answers.

Leo looked at Mikey solemnly before answering "yes, that is one of the main reasons why I didn't write back. I didn't want to tell you guys about it when I got back because it wasn't really important at the time. Getting our family back together mattered, and you guys know that I have learned to try and not dwell on past failures."

They all nodded, each remembering when Leo had to go seek the Ancient One.

"But how did you get hurt? Where and how bad were you hurt and are you ok now?" Donny just had to know. With him being the family doctor he hated the idea that Leo might have been in pain and he wasn't there to help him. He knew that medical knowledge in the jungles of Central America wasn't the best, and recovery from an injury would be hard especially when Leo had been so far from home.