Into the Underground

Juliet Montgomery was supposed to be building a career, not stealing classified information from a corporation tied to organized crime.

Now she’s being hunted through the streets of New York by men in black masks, hiding evidence, and taking refuge in the city’s underground.

Which would be terrifying enough on its own.

Unfortunately, the mysterious voice in the sewers she keeps returning to belongs to a mutant turtle with swords, too many secrets, and a habit of showing up every time she’s in danger.

Or:

Jules accidentally falls into the sewers while fleeing armed men.

Leonardo accidentally lets a stranger become the center of his universe.

Neither of them are handling it particularly well.

Chapter 1: Part I : Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Chapter One - Jules

New York never really slept. It groaned, hissed, argued with itself through thin apartment walls and rattling subway tracks, but it never slept.

Juliet Montgomery sat hunched over a cluttered desk on the third floor of the Whitmore Legal Aid, rubbing tired eyes behind wire-framed glasses as rain tapped against the windows. Case files towered around her in uneven stacks, highlighted notes bleeding neon pink and yellow beneath the flickering desk lamp.

Three people missing in six months.

No connections. No witnesses. No bodies.

Which usually meant nobody important enough for the city to care.

Jules frowned at the photograph paperclipped to the top file. A college student. Twenty-one. Gone after applying for a research internship at a biotech company called Helix Dynamics.

The second victim had interviewed there too.

The third worked there briefly before disappearing completely.

“Coincidence,” her supervising attorney had called it earlier.

Jules didn’t believe in coincidences anymore.

Especially not in New York.

She glanced toward the old office clock.

7:47 PM.

Jules had only been officially licensed for six months, and already most of her paycheck disappeared into rent, subway fares, and instant coffee. Whitmore Legal Aid paid barely enough to survive on, but the work mattered. Which was exactly why she couldn’t let this case go.

Even if it got her into situations like tonight.

Her fake resume sat folded neatly inside her bag beside a burner phone and a USB drive no bigger than her thumb.

Definitely not approved by the American Bar Association.

She stood, slipped on her coat, and headed out into the rain.

---

Helix Dynamics occupied a sleek glass building downtown, all polished steel and minimalist design. The kind of place that smelled expensive the second you walked inside.

Jules approached the front desk with practiced confidence.

“Late interview,” she said smoothly. “Research assistant position?”

The receptionist barely looked up. “Ninth floor.”

Too easy.

That alone made her nervous.

The elevator ride felt endless. Jules adjusted the strap of her bag while her pulse hammered steadily in her throat.

You’re just gathering information.

Not breaking and entering.

Probably.

The ninth floor was eerily quiet. Dim overhead lights reflected off spotless white floors. Laboratories lined the hallway behind glass walls, filled with equipment she couldn’t begin to identify.

A man in a gray lab coat greeted her near the back offices.

“Miss Contraire?” he asked.

“That’s me.”

“Apologies for the late hour. We’ve had… staffing issues recently.”

I bet you have.

He led her through the facility while explaining research grants and experimental development projects in a rehearsed corporate monotone. Jules nodded politely, pretending to listen while mentally mapping exits, cameras, and keycard locks.

Then she saw it.

An unattended workstation glowing softly inside a side office.

Her chance.

The lab-coated man paused when another employee called for him down the hall.

“One moment.”

Jules offered a pleasant smile. “Of course.”

The second he disappeared, she moved.

Fast.

She slipped into the office, pulled the USB drive from her coat pocket, and jammed it into the computer tower beneath the desk.

The monitor blinked awake.

Encrypted files.

Employee records.

Research logs.

Video archives.

Jackpot.

“Hurry up, hurry up…” she muttered under her breath as folders copied over one by one.

Footsteps echoed faintly somewhere outside.

Her stomach tightened.

92%.

97%.

100%.

She yanked the drive free just as voices grew louder in the hallway.

Then every alarm in the building exploded at once.

Red lights flashed violently across the office.

“Security breach detected.”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

Jules bolted.

Shouts erupted behind her almost immediately.

“Stop her!”

She sprinted down the corridor, shoulder-checking through emergency doors before slamming into the stairwell. Her flats pounded against concrete steps as she flew downward two at a time.

Somewhere above her, footsteps followed.

Heavy.

Fast.

Too fast.

She burst out into the rain-soaked street, gasping as cold water hit her face. Neon signs blurred together while traffic horns screamed somewhere nearby.

Don’t look back.

She ran anyway.

Through crowded sidewalks.

Across intersections.

Into narrow alleys slick with rain and garbage.

The city became a maze around her.

She caught glimpses behind her only once or twice—dark figures moving across rooftops and fire escapes.

All black.

Silent.

Not police.

Her lungs burned. Her back ached from slamming into dumpsters and brick walls trying to turn corners fast enough to lose them.

Then suddenly—

The ground vanished beneath her.

Jules barely had time to scream before she crashed downward through open air.

BOOM.

Pain exploded through her spine as she slammed onto concrete below. The impact knocked every bit of air from her lungs.

For several horrible seconds, she couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Rainwater dripped faintly from the open manhole high above while her vision swam violently.

A construction barrier.

The manhole must’ve been under maintenance.

“Holy shit...” she wheezed.

Every muscle screamed as she rolled painfully onto her side and dragged herself away from the shaft of light overhead, deeper into darkness.

Her back throbbed with every movement.

Then she heard voices above.

Running footsteps.

Flashlights swept briefly across the opening.

Jules clamped a hand over her mouth, forcing herself silent despite her ragged breathing.

Please keep going.

The footsteps paused.

Then slowly faded into the distance.

Relief hit so hard it almost made her dizzy.

For a long moment she just sat there in the dark sewer tunnel, soaked to the bone, trying not to cry from the pain shooting up her spine.

Finally, with shaking hands, she reached into her coat pocket.

The USB drive was still there.

Jules stared at it in the dim light filtering from above.

Whatever was on this thing had terrified Helix Dynamics enough to send armed men after her.

Which probably meant she’d just stumbled into something enormous.

A faint sound echoed somewhere to her left.

Not water.

Movement.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Jules froze.

The darkness deeper in the tunnel shifted slightly.

And suddenly she realized—

She wasn’t alone.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Chapter Two - Leo

Patrol had been quiet.

Too quiet, honestly.

Leonardo walked the edge of a rooftop overlooking lower Manhattan while the city glowed beneath him in streaks of neon and rain. Somewhere below, traffic groaned through flooded streets while distant sirens echoed between buildings.

Beside him, Raphael cracked his neck.

“Well, that was boring.”

“You say that like boring’s a bad thing,” Donatello replied without looking up from the scanner in his hands.

“It is a bad thing.”

“Speak for yourself,” Michelangelo said. “I personally enjoy not being exploded.”

Raph snorted.

The patrol split shortly after.

Raph headed straight back toward the lair muttering something about sleep. Mikey disappeared in search of pizza despite Leo reminding him they already had food at home. Donnie veered off toward the junkyard to grab parts for whatever project currently occupied every flat surface in his lab.

Leo stayed out another thirty minutes.

The city always felt different alone.

Quieter.

Like he could actually hear himself think.

Rain dripped steadily from fire escapes as he finally dropped back into the tunnels beneath the city. The familiar damp air wrapped around him immediately.

Home.

He had barely made it a few corridors in when he heard it.

A scream.

Sharp. Sudden.

Then—

BOOM.

Leo froze.

For half a second, silence returned.

Then came the faint scrape of movement somewhere ahead.

He moved instantly.

Fast and silent through the darkness.

The tunnels twisted ahead of him in long shadows illuminated only by weak overhead maintenance lights. Leo slowed as he approached the source of the noise.

Then he saw her.

A girl sprawled across the concrete floor beneath an open manhole far above.

Rainwater dripped down through the opening onto the ground around her.

She groaned softly, mumbling something under her breath before dragging herself painfully away from the light and deeper into the darkness.

Leo stayed hidden automatically.

Years of instinct.

She looked disheveled. Soaked from the rain. Clothes dirty from the sewer floor. Her breathing uneven like every movement hurt.

That had been a far fall.

He was just debating whether to ask if she was okay when voices echoed faintly from the street overhead.

Footsteps.

Several of them.

The girl froze instantly.

Leo’s eyes narrowed.

Fear crossed her face so quickly and so genuinely that it answered the question before he could ask it.

Someone had been chasing her.

The footsteps above lingered for a moment before eventually fading into the distance.

Only then did she breathe again.

Leo still hadn’t moved.

Hadn’t spoken.

She sat there breathing hard while water dripped steadily through the manhole overhead.

And Leo watched.

She was pretty.

That realization came unexpectedly.

Her face was flushed red from exertion, damp curls sticking to her cheeks while her chest rose and fell rapidly beneath her soaked jacket. Even covered in grime and sewer water, there was something striking about her.

Determination maybe.

Or stubbornness.

She reached shakily into her coat pocket and pulled out something small.

She stared at it intensely.

Leo shifted slightly without realizing he’d done it, trying to get a better look.

The movement scraped softly against the concrete wall behind him.

The girl went rigid.

Her head snapped toward the darkness where he stood hidden.

Could she see him?

No.

But she definitely heard him.

“Hello?” she called cautiously.

Leo stayed still.

Every instinct told him to leave.

Humans were dangerous complications.

Master Splinter had drilled that lesson into them their entire lives.

But she looked hurt.

And scared.

“Hello?” she tried again, louder this time.

Leo hesitated.

Risk revealing himself and possibly endangering his family?

Or stay silent and wait her out?

She clearly wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

And honestly… after that fall, he wasn’t sure she could.

Finally, he made a decision.

“Are you hurt?” he asked softly from the darkness.

She jumped violently.

Apparently she hadn’t actually been convinced someone was there.

“Who are you?” she demanded immediately. “Where are you? Why are you in the sewer?”

Leo almost smiled despite himself.

“I guess I could ask you the same thing.”

“Well, I fell,” she shot back quickly. “But I doubt that’s why you’re here.”

Fair enough.

Leo stayed hidden in the shadows.

“Why didn’t you see the opening?” he asked instead.

“I was distracted.”

Vague.

Intentionally vague.

“Were you running from someone?”

“I don’t see why I should tell a mysterious voice hiding in the sewer.”

Leo leaned lightly against the tunnel wall.

She had a point.

“Are you hurt?” he asked again.

“I’ll be fine,” she muttered. Then after a beat: “…Hopefully.”

“Hopefully?” Leo repeated.

“Well,” she said dryly, “I just fell into a sewer and now I’m hearing voices, so either I need sleep or I hit my head.”

Leo stayed quiet.

“This is crazy,” she whispered, mostly to herself.

Slowly, carefully, she pushed herself to her feet.

Leo noticed the slight hitch in her movement immediately.

Definitely injured.

She limped toward the open manhole and stared up at it for several long seconds.

Her expression shifted strangely.

Thinking.

Debating.

“What are you waiting for?” Leo asked before he could stop himself.

She paused.

Then, surprisingly, turned away from the ladder completely and returned to her original spot against the wall.

She slid down carefully to sit again, wincing slightly before leaning her head back against the concrete and closing her eyes.

Leo frowned faintly from the darkness.

“What are you doing?”

“Waiting,” she answered simply.

“For what?”

Her eyes stayed closed.

“If they’re still up there, I’m not climbing out.”

Smart.

Leo studied her quietly.

Most people panicked when cornered.

This girl calculated.

Whatever she had been clutching in her hand before was important.

Important enough to risk this.

Important enough to run.

Leo settled silently into the shadows across from her.

He still didn’t know who she was.

Didn’t know why she’d been chased.

Didn’t know what she stole.

But leaving her here alone felt wrong.

Especially if someone dangerous was looking for her.

So he stayed where he was.

Watching.

Waiting with her.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Chapter Three - Jules

The rain eventually softened into a faint drizzle somewhere above the city.

Juliet Montgomery sat against the cold sewer wall with her knees pulled loosely to her chest, listening to water drip steadily through the tunnels.

Waiting.

If the information she stole from Helix Dynamics was as important as she suspected, they would search for her all night.

Maybe longer.

So she stayed where she was.

Patient.

Mostly.

Her back was killing her.

Every slight movement sent a dull ache up her spine from the fall, and sitting on concrete for hours definitely wasn’t helping, but there weren’t exactly better options available at the moment.

She stared absently at the slick tunnel floor while her thoughts spiraled.

Fake name.

Fake address.

Fake email.

The phone number she’d given Helix still made her want to laugh despite everything—it routed directly to a pizza place in Queens because she’d thought it would be funny at the time.

Now she was hoping it hadn’t been stupid.

Jules replayed every conversation she’d had during the application process, mentally picking apart every detail she’d shared.

Had she slipped anywhere?

Given too much away?

Could they somehow trace her back to Whitmore Legal Aid?

She didn’t think so.

And if Helix had connections inside the police department—which honestly felt increasingly likely—then the missing persons investigations were probably buried under paperwork already.

Assuming the police were trying at all.

Jules exhaled quietly and leaned her head back against the wall.

Just for a minute.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up cold.

Her eyes blinked open slowly.

For one disorienting second she forgot where she was entirely.

Then the smell hit her.

Sewer.

Right.

She groaned softly and pushed herself upright from where she’d apparently slid onto the concrete while sleeping.

Something crinkled beside her hand.

Jules frowned.

A water bottle.

And a small orange bottle of aspirin.

She stared at both suspiciously.

“Are you there?” she called cautiously into the tunnel.

Morning light now filtered faintly through the manhole overhead. The rain had finally stopped, leaving pale streaks of sunlight leaking between skyscrapers somewhere far above.

“Yes.”

The voice came from the darkness again.

Calm.

Steady.

Still hidden.

Jules squinted toward the shadows.

“Did you seriously just sit there and watch me sleep?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt badly.”

“…Okay. Definitely weird.”

Silence.

“Then again,” she muttered, “nothing about this situation isn’t weird.”

She picked up the aspirin bottle carefully.

“Am I supposed to trust these?”

“I didn’t do anything while you were asleep,” the voice replied evenly. “But it’s your choice.”

Jules considered that.

If mysterious sewer man wanted to kill her, he’d had hours to do it.

So.

Fair enough.

She dry-swallowed two aspirin before chasing them with water. The cold liquid felt heavenly against her dry throat.

Slowly she stood, stretching carefully.

The ache in her back dulled slightly but remained unpleasantly present.

She paced a few cautious steps around the tunnel.

Still alive.

Good sign.

“Are you real?” she asked suddenly into the darkness.

A pause.

“What do you think?”

Jules snorted softly.

“I think I hit my head harder than I realized.”

That almost sounded like a quiet laugh from somewhere deeper in the tunnel.

Almost.

She glanced up toward the manhole again.

Morning traffic would start building soon. Crowds. Noise. Witnesses.

Safer.

Hopefully.

“Well,” Jules said, grabbing her bag from the ground, “it’s been nice falling into your… whatever this is. And thanks for the aspirin and the deeply unsettling overnight supervision.”

“You’re leaving.”

“Sharp observation skills.”

“Is it safe?”

Jules climbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder before glancing back toward the darkness.

“Considering I slept down here all night without getting abducted by either you or the people chasing me, I’m gonna go with yes.”

A beat passed.

“For now.”

Then she climbed.

The early morning air hit her immediately when she emerged onto the street.

Cold.

Fresh.

The city smelled washed clean after the storm.

New Yorkers rushed past without sparing her more than a glance despite her wrinkled clothes and damp curls. Honestly, half the city looked exhausted before eight in the morning anyway.

Jules walked slowly toward her apartment, trying not to wince every few steps when her back reminded her it still existed.

On the way, she grabbed coffee from a corner deli.

Extra large.

Necessary.

She took several unnecessary turns on the walk home too.

Crossed streets randomly.

Paused at storefront windows.

Doubled back once.

Maybe paranoid.

But after last night?

Paranoid felt responsible.

And a small irrational part of her wondered whether the voice might somehow be following her too.

The thought should’ve felt ridiculous.

Instead it just felt possible.

Her apartment was tiny but clean, tucked above a laundromat that rattled constantly through the walls. Jules showered quickly, scrubbing sewer grime from her skin before pulling on fresh clothes and tying her damp hair into a messy knot.

Then she sat at her kitchen table with the USB drive in one hand and her laptop open in front of her.

Ready.

Finally.

But she stopped before plugging it in.

What if the files were traceable?

What if Helix embedded some kind of tracker?

Jules stared at the drive for several long seconds.

“…Absolutely not.”

Twenty minutes later she was seated in the back corner of an overcrowded coffee shop three neighborhoods away.

Busy enough to disappear in.

She’d intentionally picked a table near the employee exit while keeping a clear view of the front door.

Just in case.

The smell of espresso and burnt bagels filled the crowded café while conversations buzzed all around her.

Normal.

Safe.

Hopefully.

Jules finally plugged the drive into her laptop.

Then she waited.

Watching.

Listening.

Nobody burst through the door.

Nobody approached her table.

No suspicious black SUVs screeched to a halt outside.

Twenty-five minutes passed.

Still nothing.

Finally, slowly, Jules exhaled.

Okay.

Either she was safe—

or they were being patient.

Neither option felt great.

She clicked open the first encrypted folder.

Files flooded her screen instantly.

Employee records.

Financial statements.

Research logs.

Medical reports.

Video archives.

And so much redacted information it barely looked legal.

Jules’ stomach tightened.

There was a lot here.

An overwhelming amount.

Enough to expose something massive.

Enough to get her killed if she wasn’t careful.

She took a slow sip of coffee and opened another folder.

This was going to take a very, very long time.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Chapter Four - Jules

Juliet Montgomery stood in the middle of her apartment surrounded by chaos.

Papers covered nearly every available surface.

Her kitchen counter had disappeared beneath printed financial records and employee files. Sticky notes littered the coffee table. Empty cups sat abandoned beside highlighted reports and half-finished timelines.

And the wall above her desk—

That had become something between an investigation board and the beginning stages of a nervous breakdown.

Photos. Names. Dates. Connections.

Red string would’ve been dramatic overkill, but honestly she was getting close.

Jules stared at the mess with exhausted eyes.

She had barely scratched the surface. Ten percent at most. Maybe less.

The USB drive sat plugged into her laptop beside a growing mountain of folders she still hadn’t opened.

Honestly, she was impressed the thing had worked at all.

When she’d bought it from some hacker in an encrypted online forum three months ago, she’d fully expected to get scammed.

Instead the hacker had somehow delivered a tiny drive capable of bypassing encrypted servers and copying massive amounts of data without detection.

Mostly without detection.

She had tested it on her own computer first.

Ethically questionable?

Sure.

But it worked.

And when she decided to break into Helix Dynamics, “works” had become more important than “legal.”

Jules rubbed tiredly at her face.

She wished she had someone to talk to about this.

Not even help necessarily.

Just someone to confirm she wasn’t losing her mind.

But she couldn’t exactly walk into Whitmore Legal Aid and announce she’d illegally stolen confidential files from a biotech company currently tied to multiple disappearances.

Even if she trusted some of the attorneys there— which she mostly did— bringing them into this would put them at risk too.

No.

Her best option was still the same.

Find undeniable evidence.

Send everything anonymously to the police.

Then send copies to every major news outlet she could think of so the story couldn’t quietly disappear.

Simple plan.

Terrifying execution.

And there was just...

so much information.

Jules had finished law school through an accelerated program while juggling internships and unpaid case work. She was smart. Resourceful. Good at connecting details.

But this?

This felt bigger than her.

Corporate records alone filled dozens of folders. Half the medical terminology looked like another language entirely.

And every time she tried focusing fully on the files, her thoughts drifted somewhere else.

Back underground.

Back to the voice in the sewer.

The voice.

She still wasn’t fully convinced she hadn’t hallucinated him.

Sleep deprivation plus a near-concussion could probably explain a mysterious man hiding in the dark beneath New York.

Except…

The aspirin had been real.

The water bottle too.

And she remembered the calmness in his voice too clearly for it to feel imagined.

Which raised a worse question.

If he was real—

then who exactly spent their nights hiding in sewer tunnels talking to injured strangers?

Curiosity eventually won.

It usually did.

Jules grabbed her bag and stuffed several folders inside before heading back out into the city.

The manhole wasn’t far from her apartment.

Ten minutes maybe.

The streets still carried damp streaks from yesterday’s storm while late afternoon traffic clogged intersections with endless honking frustration.

When she reached the construction site, she paused.

Nobody was there.

No workers.

No equipment.

Honestly the broken barricades and half-finished repairs looked abandoned entirely, probably forgotten beneath the mountain of disasters New York dealt with daily.

Jules glanced around once more before slipping beneath the barricade and climbing carefully down into the sewer.

The familiar damp air greeted her immediately.

Cool.

Quiet.

Still.

She stepped off the ladder and looked around slowly.

The faint daylight only reached a short distance down the tunnel before darkness swallowed everything beyond it.

There was no evidence anyone lived here.

No blanket.

No supplies.

Not even signs of her fall from the other night.

If not for the lingering ache in her back, she might’ve convinced herself she imagined the whole thing.

Jules waited quietly for a few moments.

Nothing.

No voice.

No movement.

No mysterious sewer voice.

“…Okay then,” she muttered.

Still, she sat.

The tunnels muffled the constant noise of the city above. Down here, the endless buzz of New York faded into distant vibrations and dripping water.

Peaceful in a weird way.

Jules pulled several papers from her bag and spread them across the concrete beside her.

Might as well work.

She became absorbed quickly, flipping through records and muttering observations beneath her breath.

“…Okay that expense report is absolutely fake.”

A page turned.

“No one spends that much on lab refrigeration unless they’re hiding bodies or creating dinosaurs.”

Soft rustling echoed faintly deeper in the tunnel.

Jules looked up immediately.

Silence followed for a second before—

“You came back.”

The voice drifted from the darkness.

Calm as ever.

Jules smiled slightly before she could stop herself.

“I did.”

A pause.

“Why are you here?”

She leaned back against the wall thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted honestly. “I needed somewhere quiet to think.”

Then after a beat:

“Preferably out loud.”

“And the sewer was your first choice?”

“It was between this and therapy.”

That earned a quiet sound suspiciously close to laughter.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

He didn’t answer immediately.

“What do you need to think about?” he asked instead.

Avoiding the question.

Interesting.

“I need a solution.”

“To what?”

Jules gestured vaguely toward the papers scattered around her.

“A puzzle.”

Silence.

Then:

“Are you good at puzzles? Or just being mysterious?”

A faint chuckle echoed softly through the tunnel.

“I’m alright. Nothing like my brother though.”

The words slipped out casually before cutting off abruptly.

Jules noticed immediately.

Brother.

So he wasn’t alone down here.

Interesting.

But if he didn’t want to explain, she wasn’t going to push.

Not yet.

“Well,” Jules said, reorganizing her papers, “I’ll keep working on my puzzle out loud then.”

And somehow—

that became their evening.

Jules studied files while speaking half-formed thoughts into the darkness.

Always vague.

Never enough information to actually expose herself.

But enough.

Enough for conversation.

“This timeline makes no sense.”

“Why?”

“Because whoever wrote these reports keeps changing terminology halfway through. Either multiple people edited them or someone’s hiding something.”

A pause.

“That seems important.”

“Thank you, mysterious sewer consultant.”

Later—

“Who approves a seventy-million-dollar budget increase with zero documentation?”

“Someone confident they won’t be questioned.”

“…That was actually annoyingly insightful.”

Occasionally he responded with small observations of his own.

Short comments.

Questions.

Dry humor she hadn’t expected from him.

And weirdly—

it was nice.

Having someone there while she worked.

Even if she couldn’t fully see him.

Even if she still had absolutely no idea who he was.

Hours slipped by unnoticed until exhaustion finally settled heavily into her bones.

Jules yawned softly while gathering her papers back into neat stacks.

“I should go,” she admitted reluctantly. “I have to be somewhere early tomorrow.”

The tunnel fell quiet for a moment.

Then—

“Will you return?”

The question caught her off guard.

Jules paused halfway through zipping her bag.

For some reason, hearing him ask that made something warm flicker unexpectedly in her chest.

“Yes,” she answered softly.

And this time, she meant it.

Then she climbed the ladder back toward the surface, emerging once again into the cold New York air.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Chapter Five - Leo

Leonardo had been genuinely surprised when she came back.

After her first visit to the tunnels, he’d convinced himself he would never see her again.

A strange human girl falling into the sewer in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that turned into repeat encounters.

Still—

after she left, he had impulsively set up a motion alert near the manhole she’d climbed out of.

Just in case.

Technically, Donnie had done most of the actual work years ago. The underground surveillance system stretched through huge sections of New York’s tunnels and abandoned subway lines. Cameras, motion sensors, heat tracking—Donnie monitored half the city without anyone realizing it.

Leo had simply added one extra alert.

One very specific alert.

He told himself it was precautionary.

Not curiosity.

Definitely not disappointment when days passed without anything happening.

Then almost a week later, the alert triggered.

Leo checked the camera feed expecting maybe maintenance workers or rats.

Instead—

Her.

Climbing carefully back down into the tunnel with a bag slung over her shoulder.

Leo remembered just staring at the screen for a solid few seconds.

Then smiling before he could stop himself.

And after that…

they had simply sat together.

Talking.

Not really about anything important.

And somehow also about everything.

Leo found himself drawn to her in a way that made absolutely no sense.

It wasn’t as though he’d never spoken to girls before. April was one of his closest friends, and over the years they’d occasionally interacted with officers or civilians helping during missions.

But this felt different.

She stayed in his head constantly.

The sound of her voice.

The dry humor.

The way she talked herself through problems out loud without realizing it.

Even now, days later, he could practically hear her saying: “Either this company is evil or unbelievably bad at accounting.”

It was reckless.

Leo knew that.

Humans complicated things.

Master Splinter had spent their entire lives teaching them caution, secrecy, discipline.

Protect the family. Protect the shadows. Protect each other.

And yet every time he considered cutting this off completely, a quiet voice in the back of his mind insisted:

It’s fine.

You aren’t hurting anyone.

So he kept talking to her.

Carefully.

Never too much.

Leo tried piecing together clues from the vague comments she made while studying her papers.

Someone missing.

A company hiding something.

Corruption maybe.

She was smart though.

Every detail she shared felt intentional.

Enough to speak freely without actually giving anything away.

Leo respected that.

He also never wanted to push too hard.

Part of him worried that asking the wrong question would scare her off completely.

Still…

his mind constantly circled back to her.

Maybe she was a cop?

Though the few officers Chief Vincent trusted tended to be older.

Maybe a private investigator?

But she looked young for that.

Actually—

how old was she?

Close to his age maybe.

Why had she come back?

Why was she still talking to him?

Why did she trust him at all?

She hadn’t even seen him yet.

That should’ve made this easier somehow.

Safer.

Instead it somehow made everything more intense.

Because she listened to him without reacting to what he was.

Without fear.

Without shock.

Just… Leo.

When exhaustion finally started pulling at her during that second visit, the question had slipped out before he could stop it.

“Will you return?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Too eager.

Too revealing.

But then she paused while packing her things and softly answered:

“Yes.”

And for some reason, that single word left his stomach twisting strangely afterward.

So Leo continued living his normal life.

Or pretending to.

Training.

Patrols.

Meditation.

Listening to Raphael and Casey Jones yell at each other during sparring matches.

Pretending he wasn’t checking his tunnel alerts far more often than necessary.

He debated telling his brothers.

Several times, actually.

But every version of the conversation sounded ridiculous in his head.

There’s a human girl I met in the sewer and now we have conversations in the dark a few nights a week.

Yeah.

Absolutely not.

Besides, it wasn’t important.

She was just a girl.

And they were just talking.

At least that’s what Leo kept telling himself.

Then nearly a week after their second meeting, the alert triggered again.

Leo’s heart sped up instantly when he saw her on the screen.

Before he fully realized what he was doing, he was already leaving the lair.

She had more files spread around her this time by the time he arrived.

Pages covered the concrete around her in neat little organized piles while she sat cross-legged beneath the dim tunnel light muttering to herself.

Leo intentionally scraped lightly against the wall to announce his presence.

“Oh good, you’re here,” she said immediately.

Leo froze for half a second in the shadows.

She sounded…

happy.

The realization hit him embarrassingly hard.

Maybe that was why she kept returning.

Not the sewer itself.

Not just the quiet.

Him.

Then his brain immediately corrected itself.

No.

She just wanted someone to talk through her work with.

That was all.

It wasn’t personal.

How could it be?

She still didn’t even know what he looked like.

Still, Leo found himself stepping slightly closer than usual.

“You brought more paperwork.”

She groaned dramatically.

“You have no idea.”

She held up a thick stack.

“This one folder alone contains four hundred pages of financial records.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“You’re mocking me.”

“A little.”

“I knew it. I can hear the judgment in your mysterious sewer voice.”

Leo smiled faintly to himself.

“You chose to spend your free time reading corporate documents underground.”

“Okay first of all, rude. Second, I’m solving a conspiracy.”

“In the sewer.”

“In the sewer,” she confirmed.

A few moments passed while she sorted through papers again.

Then—

“Do you ever leave?” she asked suddenly.

Leo blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“The sewer,” she clarified. “Do you just live down here like some kind of morally ambiguous cryptid?”

Leo actually laughed quietly at that.

“Morally ambiguous?”

“You still haven’t shown your face. That automatically makes you suspicious.”

“You came back anyway.”

“…Unfortunately, yes.”

The answer came too fast.

She seemed to realize it too because she immediately buried herself back in the paperwork.

Leo found himself smiling again.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

And then they fell back into their now familiar rhythm.

She would think out loud while reading through files and Leo would occasionally offer thoughts or questions from somewhere inside the darkness.

“This expense report makes zero sense.”

“Why?”

“Because no legitimate lab spends this much money transporting biological material without documentation.”

A pause.

“That sounds concerning.”

“It sounds illegal.”

Another file flipped open.

“Also whoever organized these folders deserves jail time independently from whatever crimes they’re already committing.”

Leo laughed before he could stop himself.

The sound surprised both of them slightly.

She looked up toward the darkness.

“There it is.”

“What?”

“The laugh. I was starting to think you didn’t know how.”

“I laugh.”

“Mm. Sure.”

“I do.”

“Then clearly I’m hilarious.”

Leo leaned lightly against the wall.

“You’re very confident.”

“I’m objectively funny.”

“That’s debatable.”

She gasped dramatically.

“You wound me, sewer man.”

“Leo.”

“What?”

“My name.”

A small pause.

Then quieter:

“You can call me Leo.”

Something shifted softly in her expression at that.

Not fear.

Not hesitation.

Just warmth.

“Okay,” she said softly. “Leo... I'm Jules."

And somehow hearing her say his name felt different than hearing anyone else say it.

The weeks after that blurred together strangely fast.

Jules would come.

They would talk.

Hours would disappear unnoticed.

Sometimes about the investigation.

Sometimes about absolutely nothing.

“What’s your favorite food?” Jules asked one night randomly.

Leo hesitated.

“…Pizza.”

She burst out laughing.

“No way.”

“What?”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“That is the most New York answer you could’ve given me.”

“It’s good pizza.”

“That sounds defensive.”

Another night—

“You give very strong oldest sibling energy.”

Leo frowned slightly from the darkness.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you sound chronically responsible.”

“…Chronically?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

“It’s not an insult either.”

And every single time she packed up to leave—

without fail—

Leo found himself asking quietly:

“Will you return?”

And every single time—

she answered yes.

Over the following weeks, Leo started understanding more pieces of her investigation.

Not details exactly.

Jules remained careful.

But enough.

Enough to know she was searching for someone.

Maybe multiple people.

Enough to know powerful people were involved.

Enough to understand why she always checked over her shoulder before climbing down into the tunnels.

And despite how much he enjoyed these strange late-night meetings…

Despite how much he wanted to keep seeing her—

Leo couldn’t shake the feeling growing heavier in his chest each day.

Something was wrong.

Not with Jules.

With all of this.

The secrecy.

The fear.

The people chasing her.

It felt unstable.

Fragile.

Like eventually something was going to snap.

And when it did—

Leo was almost certain it was going to be bad.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Chapter Six - Jules

Whitmore Legal Aid was falling apart.

Not dramatically.

Not all at once.

Just slowly enough for everyone inside to pretend it wasn’t happening.

The elevator had been broken for three weeks. Two offices on the fourth floor sat empty because they couldn’t afford replacements after layoffs. The coffee machine in the breakroom made burnt sludge that tasted vaguely electrical.

And every month, another conversation about budget cuts floated through the halls.

Jules pushed open the glass office door balancing two coffees in one hand and a stack of files in the other.

“Morning,” she called.

No one answered.

Not surprising.

Half the staff looked permanently exhausted lately.

She made her way toward the back offices before slowing near an open doorway.

Richard Whitmore stood inside with his sleeves rolled up, staring down at paperwork spread across his desk with a tight expression.

Jules frowned slightly.

“You look terrifyingly stressed.”

Richard glanced up.

Tired eyes softened slightly when he saw her.

“Good morning to you too.”

“How bad?”

He leaned back in his chair slowly.

“We lost another donor.”

Jules winced.

“Ouch.”

“That puts us at three this quarter.”

Silence settled briefly.

Richard Whitmore had founded the legal aid office nearly twenty years ago. He’d spent most of his career fighting for people nobody else wanted to represent.

Public housing cases. Wrongful arrests. Immigration hearings.

The kind of work that mattered.

The kind that barely paid.

Jules stepped into the office and handed him one of the coffees.

“You’ll figure it out.”

“That confidence is dangerously misplaced.”

She smiled faintly before dropping into the chair across from him.

Actually, she trusted Richard more than almost anyone.

Which wasn’t exactly normal considering she technically owed him her entire future.

Years ago, when she was sixteen and terrified and desperate to escape a legal guardian who spent most nights drunk and most days angry, Richard Whitmore had been the attorney assigned to her emancipation case.

Everyone else had treated her like another overwhelmed teenager from the system.

Richard hadn’t.

He listened.

Believed her.

Fought for her.

And afterward, when she’d buried herself in school and eventually law school, he’d offered her a position at the firm before she even passed the bar.

So yes.

She trusted him.

Probably more than she should.

Richard studied her over the rim of his coffee cup.

“You’ve been distracted lately.”

Jules hesitated.

Then leaned forward slightly.

“I think I’m onto something big.”

That got his attention immediately.

“What kind of big?”

“The kind that could turn into a massive case for the firm.”

Richard’s brows furrowed.

“Jules…”

“I know how that sounds.”

“Where did this come from?”

She debated for exactly three seconds.

Then decided.

“It’s connected to Helix Dynamics.”

Richard’s expression shifted subtly.

Not enough for most people to notice.

Jules did anyway.

“I got my hands on information,” she continued carefully. “A lot of it.”

“How?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

That answer clearly didn’t comfort him.

“Jules—”

“Just give me a few more weeks,” she said quickly. “Please. I know there’s something here. Missing people, financial coverups, medical records—something illegal is happening.”

Richard was quiet for a long moment.

Then finally:

“Okay.”

That was it.

No lecture.

No interrogation.

Just okay.

Relief loosened slightly in Jules’ chest.

“Thanks.”

“Be careful,” he said quietly.

Jules smiled faintly.

“When am I not?”

Richard gave her a look.

“…Don’t answer that.”

Over the next couple weeks, Jules buried herself deeper into the investigation.

She worked constantly.

At the office.

At coffee shops.

In the sewer tunnels talking quietly with Leo.

There was still something she was missing.

She could feel it.

Some connection hidden somewhere inside the mountain of files copied from Helix.

And she was becoming increasingly paranoid about protecting the information.

The original USB drive never left her possession for long.

She had hollowed out an old lip balm tube and hidden the drive inside it, tucked carefully among random toiletries in her apartment bathroom.

No one would look twice at it.

Probably.

The rest of the files she worked from were partial copies spread across several cheaper drives hidden around her apartment in much more obvious places.

Insurance.

If someone found one, they wouldn’t get everything.

And if she somehow lost the lip balm—

which she absolutely would not—

she still wouldn’t lose the entire investigation.

Leo had actually laughed for a solid minute after she explained the hiding spot.

“A lip balm tube?”

“It’s genius.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

“Exactly. Nobody suspects ridiculous.”

“…You terrify me a little.”

“Fair.”

And somehow those late-night conversations had become the best part of her week.

Which honestly felt insane.

She still hadn’t even seen his face.

But she trusted him anyway.

Or at least trusted the version of him hidden in the dark.

Maybe that was stupid.

Maybe not.

A few nights later, Jules stayed late at the office finishing paperwork until nearly two in the morning.

The building had long since emptied out.

She finally packed her bag with a groan and headed toward the elevator.

“Still here?”

Jules looked up in surprise.

Richard stood near the front desk shrugging on his coat.

“You too?”

“Unfortunately.”

They stepped outside together into the cool night air.

The city buzzed softly around them beneath glowing streetlights.

“You heading home?” Richard asked.

“Eventually.”

“You should be careful walking alone this late.”

Jules blinked.

The comment caught her off guard slightly.

Richard wasn’t uncaring exactly, but he usually wasn’t overly protective either.

“I’ll survive.”

He hesitated briefly.

Then nodded.

“Goodbye, Jules.”

“Night.”

She watched him disappear down the sidewalk before turning toward her apartment.

And immediately found herself thinking about Leo.

Again.

Honestly it was becoming a problem.

She wondered sometimes what he actually looked like.

Tall maybe.

Responsible.

Actually pretty funny.

She smiled faintly to herself while climbing the stairs toward her apartment.

Then stopped halfway through unlocking her door.

Her old welcome mat sat crooked.

Just slightly.

But enough.

Jules stared at it.

Her apartment sat at the very end of the hallway. Nobody else had reason to walk this far down unless they were coming specifically to her door.

Slowly, carefully, she pushed the door open.

Dark.

Quiet.

Nothing obviously wrong.

Still—

something felt off.

Every instinct she had started screaming immediately.

Jules stayed standing in the doorway.

Waiting.

Watching.

Then she saw it.

A tiny movement reflected faintly in the mirrored surface of a decorative vase near her kitchen.

Someone standing just out of sight around the corner.

Her stomach dropped instantly.

Think.

Jules grabbed her phone and immediately lifted it to her ear.

“Oh hey,” she said loudly. “Yeah, I just got home.”

Silence.

Then louder:

“I forgot it again? Seriously?”

The shadow inside the apartment shifted slightly.

Good.

They were listening.

“No, no, I’ll come right back and grab it,” Jules continued casually. “Sorry.”

Then slowly—

carefully—

she stepped backward and pulled the apartment door shut.

The second it clicked closed, she locked it and ran.

Fast.

Jules bolted toward the emergency stairwell instead of the elevator, shoving through the metal door and racing down the fire escape two steps at a time.

By the time she hit the alley below, adrenaline thundered through her chest.

They found me.

She sprinted toward the street.

A loud crash exploded somewhere above her.

Glass.

They were coming after her.

Jules glanced back just long enough to catch flashes of black-clad figures climbing from her buildings windows onto the fire escape.

Her pulse spiked violently.

Run.

She tore through the streets as fast as she could.

Her first instinct was to find crowds.

People.

Witnesses.

But even New York slowed down at two in the morning.

Most sidewalks sat empty.

And considering she’d voluntarily stayed at work until nearly 2 AM, she really only had herself to blame.

The firm?

No.

If these people found her apartment, they probably already knew about Whitmore Legal Aid too.

Police station?

Absolutely not.

No guarantee they didn’t have people there.

Jules made a decision.

And immediately changed direction.

Toward the tunnels.

Toward the manhole cover that had somehow become the safest place she knew.

Her lungs burned by the time she reached it.

She shoved the cover aside clumsily and climbed down far less gracefully than usual before immediately running deeper into the tunnels.

“Leo?” she shouted breathlessly.

Nothing.

Panic climbed higher.

Footsteps echoed above her.

More than one manhole opening.

They were spreading out.

Jules pushed deeper through twisting tunnels and narrow maintenance passages she barely remembered.

She didn’t know where she was going.

Didn’t know what she expected to find.

Only that she needed him.

The sound of multiple boots hitting concrete echoed behind her now.

Closer.

Too close.

Jules stopped running just long enough to fill her lungs completely.

Then screamed into the darkness with every bit of fear and desperation she had left.

“LEO!”

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven - Leo

The lack of activity from the Foot Clan was starting to bother Leonardo.

A lot.

The Foot never stayed quiet for long.

Silence usually meant one of two things: they were regrouping—

or planning something worse.

Neither option made Leo feel better.

Training had just wrapped up in the lair. The heavy smell of sweat and metal still lingered in the air while everyone split off toward their usual routines.

Raphael moved toward the weight bench for another round because apparently two hours of combat training wasn’t enough.

Michelangelo immediately announced he was starving and disappeared toward the kitchen.

Donatello headed back toward his workstation muttering something about recalibrating sensor frequencies.

Leo debated heading topside for a patrol.

Maybe clearing his head would help.

Because lately every quiet moment in his life somehow circled back to Jules.

Jules laughing softly in the tunnels.

Jules arguing with paperwork like it personally offended her.

He smiled despite himself while reaching for his gear.

Then Donnie’s monitors exploded with warning alerts.

The sharp sound instantly cut through the lair.

Leo turned immediately.

“What happened?” he asked sharply.

Donnie was already pulling up camera feeds.

“It looks like someone’s running through the sewers.”

Raph looked over from across the room.

“What do you mean running?”

More alerts started firing rapidly now.

Enough to pull everyone’s attention toward the screens.

Donnie enlarged one of the feeds.

A blurry figure sprinted through the tunnels fast enough that Leo barely processed it at first.

Then the next camera caught her face.

Leo leaned forward instantly.

“Jules?”

The name left his mouth before he even realized it.

“What?” Mikey said, reappearing with pizza halfway to his mouth.

Donnie activated audio.

Static crackled.

Then—

“LEO!”

Jules’ voice tore through the speakers.

Leo’s heart dropped straight into his stomach.

The next camera angle revealed black-clad Foot soldiers flooding through the tunnels behind her.

Dozens.

“You know her?” Raph demanded.

“Save questions for later,” Leo snapped instantly. “We need to move now.”

“Why are the Foot chasing some random girl?” Mikey asked while already grabbing his nunchucks.

“I don’t know!”

That was the terrifying part.

“Donnie, location!”

Donnie’s hands flew across the controls.

“Sector nine maintenance tunnels. She’s heading east fast.”

Leo was already running.

His brothers followed immediately behind him through the tunnels.

He had to get to her.

He had to.

“Hold on,” Mikey shouted while sprinting beside him. “Leo knows a girl?”

“Now is not the time!” Leo shot back.

“Oh it is DEFINITELY the time!”

“Michelangelo!”

“Okay! Okay!”

They raced through twisting sewer corridors while Donnie fed directions through the comms.

“Next junction take left.”

Leo could already hear it now.

Footsteps.

Too many footsteps.

Gunfire echoed faintly somewhere ahead.

“Donnie!” Leo shouted.

“Next left!”

Leo rounded the corner—

and Jules slammed directly into him.

The collision knocked her backward onto the concrete with a painful gasp.

She looked up wildly.

Her eyes widened immediately.

For one horrible second, Leo’s stomach twisted.

This was it.

The reaction.

Fear. Shock. Disgust just waiting to happen.

He opened his mouth first.

“Jules!”

She froze.

“…Leo?”

Relief hit him so hard it almost hurt.

Then the Foot rounded the corner behind her and opened fire.

“DOWN!” Leo shouted.

Bullets sparked violently off the tunnel walls.

Leo lunged forward, grabbed Jules around the waist, and hauled her upright before turning and sprinting deeper into the tunnels.

“MOVE!” Raph roared behind them.

Another group of Foot soldiers appeared ahead.

Trapped.

Raph and Donnie launched themselves forward instantly.

Weapons clashed violently in the narrow corridor.

“Maneuver seven!” Leo shouted.

Immediately all four turtles moved as one.

Years of training taking over automatically.

Leo scooped Jules fully into his arms bridal-style and vaulted upward into the maintenance tunnels above while gunfire erupted beneath them.

Jules flinched hard against him.

“It’s okay,” Leo said quickly. “I’ve got you.”

The words came naturally.

The tunnels tightened overhead as they moved quickly through the narrow passageways.

More soldiers intercepted them ahead.

Leo got caught fighting one hand-to-hand near a junction while trying to keep hold of Jules.

“Mikey!” he shouted.

“Got her!”

Mikey leaned down from the higher tunnel and grabbed Jules’ arm, hauling her upward into the passage above them.

Jules let out a sharp gasp.

He finished off the Foot soldier blocking him and vaulted upward after them.

The brothers regrouped in one of the central drainage tunnels, sliding rapidly down steep concrete inclines on their shells.

Mikey still held Jules while balancing dangerously close to the edge.

“Mikey,” Leo warned.

Mikey hit the next turn too high and Jules let out a startled scream while clutching onto him.

Enough.

Leo shot forward beside them and gave Mikey a look.

Mikey immediately grinned.

“Ohhhh. Got it.”

“Don’t you dare—”

Mikey tossed Jules directly through the air.

Leo caught her instantly against his chest.

Jules grabbed onto him hard, arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

Leo’s pulse jumped embarrassingly fast.

“There,” Mikey said proudly. “Much safer.”

“You are unbelievable.”

“I know.”

The tunnels curved sharply again.

“Status?” Leo shouted.

Donnie’s voice came through the comms.

“Looks like they’re regrouping near Lexington subway access.”

“North east entrance,” Leo ordered immediately.

The brothers shifted course.

Minutes later they dropped through a hidden ceiling hatch straight into the lair.

Leo landed first.

His brothers spread out protectively behind him while he carefully lowered Jules back onto her feet.

Then instinctively—

he stepped back.

Giving her space.

Giving her an exit.

Jules slowly looked around the lair.

The massive room. The glowing monitors. The weapons. The old furniture. The giant mutant turtles standing in front of her.

Leo’s stomach twisted tighter with every passing second.

Why was he this nervous?

He’d fought alien warlords.

Faced death more times than he could count.

And somehow this felt scarier.

Jules turned slowly in a circle. She looked at each of his brothers before her eyes finally settled on him.

“…Leo?” she asked softly.

Come on. You can do this, you’re the fearless leader.

Leo stepped forward carefully.

“Hi.”

“…Hi.”

The silence afterward was excruciating.

Normally one of his brothers would’ve said something stupid by now.

For once—

they all stayed completely silent.

“You’re a…” Jules paused sheepishly, “A lizard?”

“A turtle,” Leo corrected automatically.

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

This was awful.

“Wait,” Raph interrupted suddenly. “You two never actually met before?”

Leo visibly cringed.

“You were yellin’ his name through the sewer like some dramatic movie scene!”

“We’ve spoken a few times,” Jules said. “This is just our first face-to-face meeting.”

Leo continued standing there like an idiot.

Why wasn’t she freaking out?

Why wasn’t she screaming?

Running?

Honestly, why was she being so calm?

Then suddenly Jules looked directly at him and said:

“Well… this is definitely better than what I had imagined.”

Mikey immediately perked up.

“What did you imagine?”

“Oh God,” Jules muttered.

“Okay well obviously there were normal possibilities first.”

“Normal?” Donnie repeated.

“Well there was the obvious choices like demon or killer clown, then there was some more reasonable ideas like a ghost that one was very likely and then there was this weird blob monster I had made up in my head."

Raph snorted.

“Then I considered maybe you were just homeless,” Jules continued rapidly. “But then your voice was too calm for that which somehow made it worse, and then I started thinking maybe I’d hallucinated you entirely and was slowly losing my mind—”

She was talking faster now.

“And honestly that felt VERY possible because who befriends a mysterious voice in a sewer? That’s objectively concerning behavior on my part and wow you’re huge—”

Leo stood and little awkwardly while she looked him specifically up and down.

Jules looked slightly pale suddenly.

“Am I talking too fast?” she continued breathlessly. “I feel like I’m talking too fast. It's kind of hot in here. Also the room is starting to spin..."

“…Dudes. Blood.” Mikey said.

Leo turned sharply.

His stomach dropped.

Dark blood soaked down Jules’ side and arm.

Jules looked down too.

Then her legs gave out.

Leo caught her before she hit the floor.

She looked up at him weakly.

“Leo,” she whispered. “I don’t feel so good.”

Then her head rolled back and she passed out.

“Donnie!”

Donnie was already beside them scanning the wound.

“Perforating GSW to the brachium,” he said quickly.

“…Not helping,” Raph muttered.

“Right. Sorry. Medbay now.”

Leo carried Jules through the lair as fast as he could without jostling her too much.

Blood soaked through his hands.

Too much blood.

Way too much.

Donnie immediately got to work cutting away her jacket sleeve.

Leo stood nearby feeling absolutely sick.

How had he missed this?

The blood. The way she barely used her arm. The fact that she’d been breathing harder than normal.

She probably hadn’t even felt it fully yet because of the adrenaline.

“Bullet went clean through,” Donnie said while irrigating the wound. “That’s good.”

“Any major damage?”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

Leo exhaled shakily.

Donnie continued working efficiently.

“My guess?” Donnie added. “She got hit during the chase, adrenaline carried her through, then being thrown around tunnels while discovering mutant turtles probably overloaded her nervous system.”

“…Yeah.”

“I’m honestly impressed she stayed conscious as long as she did.”

Leo stayed silent after that.

Mostly because guilt was eating him alive.

Donnie finally stepped back almost half an hour later.

“I sedated her so she wouldn’t wake up during stitching.”

“How long will she be out?”

“Hour maybe.”

Leo nodded slowly.

He moved to follow Donnie out to the main living area where he knew Mikey and Raph were waiting for him. He took once last glance at Jules.

Then finally left the medbay to face his brothers.

Raph crossed his arms immediately.

“So we keepin’ secrets now?”

Leo stopped in front of them.

And suddenly all the guilt hit full force.

Not just about Jules.

Everything.

The secrecy. The risk. The Foot coming near their home.

“I’m sorry,” Leo said immediately.

That clearly wasn’t the response anyone expected.

His brothers exchanged quick looks.

“I don’t know why I kept it secret,” Leo admitted, “It was reckless. Stupid. I endangered all of you because I wanted…” He stopped himself. “I should’ve said something sooner.”

“Whoa,” Mikey said carefully. “We’re not mad.. Just a little.."

“Confused?” Donnie offered.

“Ya, confused,” Mikey confirmed.

“A girl being hunted by the Foot feels important to mention,” Donnie added.

“I didn’t know the Foot was after her,” Leo said quickly. “She literally fell into the tunnels one night. I thought she was hurt so I asked if she was okay. I never showed myself. We just… talked.”

Then slowly, awkwardly, Leo explained.

The meetings. The conversations. The investigation.

Leaving out the more personal details.

Mostly.

“It was nice,” Leo admitted finally. “Talking to someone new.”

The room stayed quiet briefly.

Then Raph shrugged.

“Alright. Stop beating yourself up.”

Leo blinked.

“What?”

“So ya met a girl,” Raph said. “Big deal.”

“It’s not that simple—”

“Nothin’ about our lives is simple.”

Raph leaned back against the wall.

“Mikey’s got online gamer friends.”

“Correct.”

“Donnie spends half his life arguing with strangers on those forum things."

“They were WRONG.”

“And you met somebody.”

Leo stared at them slightly.

“That’s it?”

Mikey snorted.

“Bro, we thought you had secretly joined a cult or something.”

“A cult?” Leo repeated.

“You do disappear dramatically sometimes.”

“That is not true.”

Mikey grinned.

“So when she wakes up are we tellin’ her the whole mutant ninja turtle thing right away or easing into it?”

Leo rubbed a hand down his face tiredly.

One impossible situation at a time.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight - Jules

Jules’ eyes felt impossibly heavy.

The second she tried to roll onto her side, lightning-hot pain shot through her arm hard enough to pull a groan from her throat.

“Oh my God…”

Everything felt blurry.

Slow.

She blinked several times trying to focus while staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Machines beeped softly nearby.

Monitors glowed in dim blue light.

Metal counters along the walls were crowded with strange gadgets and medical supplies she couldn’t begin to identify.

Right.

Mutant turtles.

That hadn’t been a fever dream apparently.

Jules slowly pushed herself upright, immediately regretting it when dizziness hit her hard enough to make her sway.

Her arm throbbed in heavy pulses beneath thick bandages wrapped from shoulder nearly to elbow.

She looked down.

Her jacket sat destroyed on the floor nearby, sliced open and stained dark with blood. Her shirt sleeve had been cut away too, dried blood trailing all the way down her side and pants.

Someone had taken off her shoes.

That realization felt strangely intimate.

Jules took a careful breath before slowly climbing off the medical cot.

Her sock-covered feet moved silently across the floor toward the partially opened rolling door nearby.

Voices drifted through from the next room.

“If they exited over there maybe they headed toward the warehouse district,” one voice said thoughtfully. “We already suspected they might have a hideout there.”

“Or they doubled back toward the docks,” another deeper voice argued.

Jules stepped closer carefully.

Three massive turtle figures stood gathered around a table covered in maps and monitors.

The one with the purple mask leaned over the table pointing at something with a bo staff strapped across his shell.

The red-masked one stood with crossed arms looking annoyed at existence in general.

And the blue-masked turtle stood in the middle quietly contemplating something.

Twin swords rested against his shell.

Leo.

Something about recognizing him instantly settled her nerves.

Then suddenly—

a massive hand landed lightly against her back.

“HEY, YOU’RE UP!”

Jules screamed.

Actually screamed.

All four turtles snapped toward her immediately.

“Mikey!” Leo hissed.

The orange-masked turtle flinched hard.

“Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

Jules clutched her chest dramatically.

“I think my soul just left my body.”

“That happens sometimes,” Mikey admitted.

“Are you okay?” Leo asked immediately, stepping toward her.

“Fine,” Jules answered shortly while glaring at Mikey.

“Mikey occasionally lacks subtlety,” Leo explained.

“Hey!”

Mikey looked offended.

Meanwhile the purple-masked turtle—Donnie, Jules remembered—started approaching while pulling strange goggles down over his eyes and activating some kind of scanner.

Jules instinctively stepped backward.

Immediately Leo grabbed Donnie’s shell and yanked him back a step.

“Space,” Leo reminded him gently.

“Right. Sorry.”

Leo glanced toward her.

“Jules, these are my brothers. Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.”

Each gave a small nod.

“Hi sugar pie,” Mikey said brightly.

Leo physically shoved him backward.

“No nicknames.”

“Aww.”

“Juliet,” she corrected softly.

“Pretty name,” Mikey said immediately.

“Mikey,” Raph warned.

“What? I’m being NICE.”

Donnie tilted his head slightly while studying her.

“Any nausea? Headache? Blurred vision?”

“No.”

“Dizziness?”

“A little.”

“That’s probably blood loss.”

“My arm hurts like a bitch.”

Donnie nodded professionally.

“Excellent sign actually.”

“…What?”

“You’re alert, coherent, and appropriately irritated.”

“That’s comforting somehow.”

“I’ll get you pain medication and fresh bandages,” Donnie said. “Though I’ll need to adjust the dosage. Most of our medical supplies from Dr. Mercer are calibrated for turtles approximately twice your size. And it's better to take the medication with food.”

“That sentence is insane.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Raph muttered.

“I’ll make food!” Mikey announced dramatically. “Raph help me.”

Then Jules found herself alone with Leo.

Suddenly the room felt quieter.

Smaller somehow.

Leo studied her carefully.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softly. “You can go lay back down.”

“I’m okay, Leo.”

His name sounded different now that she could actually look at him while saying it.

Weirdly, she hadn’t been wrong about him feeling calm.

Grounding almost.

“So… da Vinci?”

Leo blinked.

“Huh? Oh.” He looked mildly embarrassed. “Yeah.”

“That’s adorable actually.”

“It’s really not a very interesting story.”

“I think you might officially be the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

Leo smiled slightly at that.

And wow.

That smile was dangerous.

“I’m sorry you got hurt,” he said quietly after a moment. “I should’ve protected you better.”

Jules frowned immediately.

“Leo, I’m okay.”

“You got shot.”

“And your brothers stitched me back together in a secret underground turtle hospital.”

“That sentence somehow doesn’t make me feel better.”

Jules laughed softly.

“Your brothers are…”

“A lot?”

“A little terrifying.”

“That’s fair.”

“But weirdly sweet.”

Leo’s expression softened immediately.

“They mean well.”

“I can tell.”

A brief quiet settled between them.

Then Jules looked up at him again.

“Thank you.”

Leo blinked slightly.

“For what?”

“You came.”

The answer left her mouth before she fully thought about it.

Leo held her gaze for a long moment.

Then quietly:

“I’ll always come when you call.”

Jules’ stomach flipped hard enough to hurt.

Before she could respond, Donnie returned carrying pills, water, and medical supplies while Mikey and Raph followed behind balancing several plates of food.

Thankfully everyone was eating because Jules would’ve died before being the only one.

Mikey immediately shoved a plate toward her.

“Eat.”

“You sound like a grandmother.”

“Correct. I care deeply.”

After everyone settled around the table, Leo finally spoke again.

“Jules… we have some questions.”

“I figured.”

Raph leaned forward first.

“Why were the Foot after you?”

“The Foot?”

“The guys in black,” Leo clarified. “The Foot Clan. They work for a man called Shredder.”

“Very bad dude,” Mikey added through a mouthful of food. “Tried taking over New York. Super rude honestly.”

Jules blinked slowly.

“…You’re serious.”

“Unfortunately,” Donnie said.

“Do you know why they were chasing you?” Leo asked carefully.

Jules hesitated.

Could she trust them?

Could she trust him?

Her eyes lifted toward Leo automatically.

He gave her a small reassuring nod.

Simple. Quiet. I’m with you.

And somehow that was enough.

“I stole from them,” she admitted.

Every turtle froze slightly.

“…Well,” Mikey said after a second. “That’s kind of iconic.”

“Mikey,” Leo sighed.

“What? It is.”

Jules rubbed her forehead tiredly.

“I don’t know if I technically stole from the Foot directly. But I stole information from Helix Dynamics and apparently they’re connected somehow.”

“The science company?” Donnie asked immediately.

“What are you, a cop?” Raph asked suspiciously.

“You’re a lawyer,” Leo realized suddenly.

Jules looked over at him surprised.

Mikey leaned forward.

“So what exactly did you steal? Like weird science goo? Secret weapons?”

“Information,” Leo answered before Jules could. “Records.”

Jules nodded.

“A lot of records.”

“How much is a lot?” Donnie asked carefully.

Jules winced slightly.

“…Potentially all of it.”

The room went silent.

Raph slowly lowered his slice of pizza.

“You stole ALL their files?”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“How do you accidentally commit mega-crime?” Mikey asked, genuinely fascinated.

“It was supposed to grab specific folders!”

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So let me get this straight,” he said slowly. “You broke into a corporation connected to the Foot Clan, the most dangerous gang in New York, maybe the world, and stole massive amounts of confidential information.”

“When you say it like that it sounds bad.”

“It IS bad.”

“I didn’t know about the murder ninja part at the time!”

“That honestly helps a little,” Donnie admitted.

“How did you even pull that off?” Raph asked.

Then Jules explained the USB drive.

The weird online seller.

The test run.

The automatic extraction software.

As she spoke, every turtle slowly turned toward Donnie.

Donnie’s face immediately fell.

“…No.”

Leo stared at him.

“You sold THAT online?”

“I needed funding for projects!”

“I told you selling illegal hacking tech online was a bad idea,” Leo groaned.

“How was I supposed to know someone would actually USE it?”

Raph looked offended.“No, I'm sure all the people who buy something that can steal any information off of anything, always have good intentions.”

Jules pointed immediately.

“That was YOU?”

Donnie gave her an awkward little wave.

“…Hi.”

Jules burst out laughing despite herself.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Welcome to our lives,” Mikey said proudly.

Eventually Jules spread out the files she’d brought with her and started explaining the pieces she’d uncovered so far.

Missing persons.

Financial discrepancies.

Medical transport records.

Corrupted data.

The turtles listened closely, occasionally asking questions or pointing out connections she hadn’t considered.

Especially Donnie.

Hours slipped by surprisingly fast.

At some point Jules noticed her thoughts slowing.

Her arm ached heavily now.

Her eyes kept drifting shut.

Leo noticed immediately.

“That’s enough for tonight.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re falling asleep sitting up.”

“…Maybe a little.”

“Come on.”

Too tired to argue, Jules followed him quietly through the lair and up a short staircase.

“Wait here,” Leo said softly.

A minute later he returned carrying oversized clothes.

“Sorry,” he said awkwardly. “It’s all we have. The shorts are Casey’s.”

Jules looked down at her blood-soaked clothes and accepted them gratefully.

Leo opened the bathroom door for her and turned on the shower.

“I’ll wait outside. Take your time.”

The shower was difficult one-handed.

Keeping the bandages dry was even worse.

But eventually Jules emerged feeling significantly more human.

The oversized shirt hung nearly to her knees while the borrowed gym shorts barely peeked out underneath.

Leo stood waiting quietly at the end of the hall.

He looked up immediately when she stepped out.

Then very quickly looked away again.

Cute.

“Sorry again about the clothes,” he said. “I asked April to bring something tomorrow.”

So there really were humans in their lives.

Friends.

People who knew.

Somehow that made all of this feel more real.

Leo led her toward another room and opened the door.

A large bed sat neatly made against the far wall. Bookshelves lined one side of the room beside a desk scattered with journals and maps. Another sword hung mounted carefully nearby.

Jules immediately knew whose room it was.

“You can sleep here,” Leo said.

“Your room?”

“We don’t exactly have a guest room.”

“Where are you sleeping?”

Leo shrugged lightly.

“I'll sleep on the couch if I get tired.”

Guilt tugged immediately at her chest.

But the thought of sleeping exposed in the open lair felt… overwhelming.

And honestly the bed looked incredible.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

“You’re a surprisingly good host.”

He chuckled softly.

“We don’t get guests very often.”

Jules smiled.

“So you’ve had a long time to make this place feel like home?”

Leo’s expression softened slightly.

“…Yeah. A while.”

Quiet settled between them.

Comfortable this time.

Then finally Leo nodded toward the bed.

“Go to sleep, Juliet.”

The way he said her full name made warmth spread through her chest.

“Okay.”

Leo backed slowly out of the room and closed the door gently behind him.

Jules climbed into the bed carefully.

It smelled faintly like cedar, clean laundry, and something unmistakably Leo.

And for the first time in days—

maybe weeks—

she felt safe.

Her eyes drifted shut thinking of blue.

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 — Jules

Jules woke up ridiculously comfortable in a giant bed.

For a few peaceful seconds she forgot where she was.

Then her eyes opened fully and landed on the swords hanging neatly against the wall.

She sat up slowly, her arm throbbing beneath the bandages, and took her time looking around the room properly now that she wasn’t half-conscious.

The room felt… organized. Calm.

Books lined one shelf beside neatly stacked journals. Weapons sat displayed with almost ceremonial care. Everything had a place.

Very Leo.

And Leo…

Jules rubbed tiredly at her eyes.

He was a turtle.

A giant mutant turtle living beneath New York City.

Which somehow still wasn’t the weirdest part.

The weirdest part was that she still felt safest around him.

Especially when he looked at her with those intense blue eyes that made her feel like she was the only thing in the room.

God. She needed coffee.

Jules pushed herself carefully out of bed and wandered toward the stairs outside the room.

Music drifted faintly upward from below.

Something upbeat.

She followed it downstairs and found Michelangelo dancing around the kitchen while flipping pancakes dramatically with far too much confidence. Donnie sat nearby at a massive makeshift island, typing rapidly across several monitors.

Leo was nowhere in sight.

Why did that immediately disappoint her?

“Sugar pie!” Mikey beamed the second he spotted her. “You’re alive! How’d you sleep?”

Both turtles looked over.

“Fine,” Jules answered, resisting the urge to immediately ask where Leo was.

“How’s your arm?” Donnie asked. “I grabbed you aspirin.”

“Oh. It’s okay, thank you.”

“You’ll need the bandages changed again soon,” Donnie explained. “Then probably once more tonight before we downgrade to a smaller covering.”

He didn’t approach her.

Jules appreciated that more than she could explain.

She had a feeling Leo had said something to them.

“I am making you breakfast,” Mikey announced proudly. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I went classic. Pancakes.”

“Pancakes are fine.”

She sat cautiously on one of the stools, not too close to either of them.

“Coffee?” Donnie asked.

Jules nearly sighed in relief. “Please.”

“How do you take it?”

“Sweet.”

Donnie looked horrified. “Define sweet.”

“The kind that disappoints coffee purists.”

Mikey snorted loudly.

Donnie sighed dramatically as he stood. “Leo is going to love that.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

A few minutes later Donnie returned with a mug that smelled suspiciously like vanilla.

Jules took one sip and almost melted.

“Oh thank God.”

“So,” Mikey said while sliding pancakes onto plates, “how was Leo’s room?”

“It was fine,” Jules answered quickly.

It was great.

Warm. Quiet. Safe.

She hated how much she liked it.

“So we’ve been looking through your files,” Donnie said, shifting one monitor toward himself. “We think we found a few connections.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, but we wanted Leo and Raph back before going over everything.”

Now was her chance.

“Where did they go?”

“Raph had a thing with Casey,” Donnie explained casually. “Leo went to see April. She can't make it down here until tonight.”

There was that name again.

April.

Jules took another sip of coffee to hide the weird feeling that immediately twisted in her stomach.

Why did she care where Leo went?

“Breakfast is served!” Mikey declared dramatically.

They ate while Mikey rambled enthusiastically about some video game tournament.

Jules tried to follow along.

She failed almost immediately.

“So then my guild got absolutely destroyed because this idiot forgot to heal—”

“You are the idiot,” Donnie interrupted.

“Details.”

A loud metallic sound echoed from the far side of the lair.

Jules looked up just as Leo stepped inside carrying several bags.

He froze slightly when he saw her awake.

“You’re up,” he observed.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

The silence stretched awkwardly.

Jules suddenly became painfully aware of Donnie and Mikey watching them like a live soap opera.

“Donnie,” Mikey said suddenly, “didn’t you wanna go check that thing with the van?”

“Oh. Right. Yes.”

The two disappeared suspiciously fast.

And suddenly Jules was alone with Leo again.

Her heart started racing immediately.

“How are you feeling?” Leo asked.

“Better. Much better.”

“Good.”

He glanced toward the empty plates.

“Mikey cooked?”

“Pancakes.”

Leo smiled faintly. “Food’s his love language.”

“It’s a talent too.”

“Yeah,” Leo admitted. “He’s annoyingly good at it.”

“How was your… morning?” Jules asked awkwardly.

Smooth.

“Oh.” Leo said like he just remembered, then lifted the bags slightly. “I got you some stuff."

He opened them carefully.

Clothes. Toiletries. Socks.

And a smaller black bag he very intentionally did not look directly at.

“April packed some things up for you,” he explained. “The more… uh… personal stuff is in there.”

Was he blushing?

Could turtles blush?

Why was that adorable?

“Thank you,” Jules said softly, taking the bags.

Leo rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.

Jules smiled despite herself. “I’ll just go... and... ya..."

“Yeah. Of course.”

Upstairs, Jules changed into clean clothes. Nothing fit perfectly, but it was infinitely better than the ruined outfit from yesterday.

By the time she returned downstairs, Raphael had returned.

All four brothers sat around the table surrounded by paperwork and screens.

Had they even slept?

Did turtles sleep?

Did they hibernate?

Could you ask that politely?

As Jules approached, Donnie muttered something quietly to Leo.

Leo immediately stood.

“Would you mind if I changed your bandages?” he asked.

Jules nodded.

They slipped back into the medbay together.

Jules watched him quietly.

He moved differently than his brothers.

More controlled.

More careful.

She wondered if he always carried that much responsibility on his shoulders.

“You can sit there,” Leo said, gathering supplies from the cabinets without looking directly at her.

Jules hopped up onto the edge of the exam table carefully, watching him move around the room.

He seemed… nervous.

Which was oddly comforting considering she’d spent most of the last twenty-four hours internally panicking.

Leo finally approached with clean gauze and medical tape in his hands.

“Uh,” he said awkwardly, “is it okay if I—”

“You asked me that already.” Jules pointed out softly.

“Right. Sorry.”

“You apologize a lot.”

Leo huffed quietly. “Occupational hazard.”

He moved closer carefully and began unwrapping the bandages around her arm.

The gauze tugged slightly against the stitches.

Jules winced.

“Sorry,” Leo said immediately, pulling his hands back like he’d burned her.

“It’s fine.”

“No, I should’ve been more careful.”

“It’s a stitched gunshot wound, Leo. I don’t think there’s a painless version of this.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to make it worse.”

The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.

Leo focused intensely on the bandages like they required life-or-death concentration.

Jules studied him instead.

Up close, his blue eyes were darker than she originally thought. His hands were huge but surprisingly steady.

“You’re staring,” Leo muttered suddenly.

Jules nearly jumped. “You noticed?”

“I have eyes.”

“Well they’re very blue.”

The second the words left her mouth she wanted to launch herself directly into traffic.

Leo paused mid-wrap.

“…Thank you?”

Why did he sound confused by compliments?

“You’re welcome,” Jules answered, suddenly unable to remember how conversations worked.

Leo cleared his throat and resumed cleaning the wound.

“So,” Jules said quickly, desperate to stop feeling weirdly flustered, “you all know medical stuff?”

“A little.”

“A little?”

“Well, when you fight criminals regularly you learn how to patch things.”

“Normal sentence.”

Leo snorted softly.

“I mostly know basics. Donnie’s the real medic.”

“So why are you doing this instead of him?”

Leo went suspiciously still for half a second.

Jules immediately noticed.

“…You seemed more comfortable with me,” he admitted quietly.

Oh.

That was… unexpectedly thoughtful.

“That obvious?” she asked.

“A little.”

“That’s embarrassing.”

“I don’t think so.”

Jules looked down while Leo carefully taped fresh gauze into place.

“You get hurt often?” she asked after a moment.

Leo shrugged one shoulder. “Enough.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“Occupational hazard,” he repeated.

Jules frowned slightly. “You say that like fighting crime is a nine-to-five office job.”

Leo smiled faintly. “You’d be surprised how much paperwork vigilante work probably should involve.”

“Oh my God, don’t even joke about paperwork right now.”

That got an actual laugh out of him.

A real one this time.

Warm and low and unfairly attractive.

Jules hated how much she liked hearing it.

“All done,” Leo said softly after a moment.

Neither of them moved away immediately.

Jules became very aware of how close he was standing.

Leo seemed to realize it too because he stepped back so quickly he almost knocked into the counter behind him.

“I— We should probably go back,” he said awkwardly.

“Right. Yes. The case.”

“The case,” Leo echoed.

Jules slid off the table, trying very hard not to smile to herself while Leo absolutely refused to look directly at her for the next thirty seconds.

They returned to the others.

“All patched up, sugar pie?” Mikey asked.

“Good as new.”

“That is medically inaccurate,” Donnie informed her.

“Thank you, Doctor Buzzkill.” Raph remarked.

The turtles spread the files out again while Jules settled beside them.

For the next hour they went through everything she’d brought.

And honestly?

It was terrifying how smart they were.

Donnie started identifying altered metadata and duplicated authorization IDs Jules never would’ve noticed.

Leo caught inconsistencies in transfer schedules and shipment routes.

Raph pointed out patterns in missing person timelines.

Even Mikey unexpectedly connected several victim names to the same shelter network downtown.

“These transfer forms are wrong,” Donnie said suddenly.

Everyone looked over.

“How?” Jules asked.

“The signatures are duplicated,” Donnie explained, enlarging several forms on-screen. “Not copied visually. Digitally duplicated.”

“Meaning?” Raph asked.

“Meaning somebody reused authorization credentials.”

Leo leaned forward slightly. “Could someone inside the legal system do that?”

Jules went still.

“Yes,” she admitted slowly. “Guardianship records… sealed transfers… medical authorizations…”

“Which means Helix has someone helping them,” Leo finished grimly.

Silence settled heavily over the table.

“You said there was more information?” Leo asked finally.

Jules nodded. “A lot more. I split everything into sections.”

“Smart,” Donnie said approvingly.

“The rest is hidden in my apartment.”

Raph immediately frowned. “The apartment the Foot already broke into?”

“It was hidden well,” Leo said. “There’s still a chance they missed it.”

“I made copies too,” Jules added. “Most with parts of the whole.”

Mikey looked impressed. “Dang, sugar pie.”

“The original drive is hidden separately,” Jules continued. “That’s the important one.”

Leo’s expression sharpened. “You still have the original?”

Jules nodded slowly.

“And you didn’t think to mention that sooner?” Raph asked.

“I was busy getting shot.”

“Fair.”

“If we get the full data set,” Donnie said, “we can probably map the entire operation.”

“Then we go tonight,” Leo decided immediately.

“Great,” Jules said.

“Not you.”

“What? Yes me.”

“Absolutely not.”

Jules crossed her arms. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“You were literally shot yesterday.”

“And?”

“And you could get hurt again.”

“I hate to break it to you, Leo, but I’m already hurt.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Leo looked genuinely frustrated now.

“The Foot could still be watching your apartment.”

“And what if they moved something?” Jules argued back. “What if something’s off and you wouldn’t notice because you don’t live there?”

“We can handle it.”

“And I’d also like clothes that aren’t borrowed.”

That made all three brothers suddenly look anywhere except directly at her.

Raph was absolutely hiding a smirk.

Leo rubbed tiredly at his forehead.

“Juliet—”

“And,” she continued, “I definitely do not need four giant turtles digging through my apartment unsupervised.”

Mikey looked offended. “I would respectfully snoop.”

“Exactly my point.”

Leo looked straight into her eyes.

“Juliet, it’s dangerous.”

Jules stepped closer.

“I know it is,” she said more softly now. “But this is my case.”

Leo’s expression shifted slightly.

“And lucky for me,” Jules added with the faintest smile, “I happen to have a pretty good protector on my side.”

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Notes:

This was my favorite chapter to write so far, other than maybe the chapter they meet face to face. I have a big plan for this story, but honestly have been really impressed with myself and how on top of updating and continuing it I have been. Did that sentence even make sense? Probably not. Oh well, I hope you are enjoying it so far.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 - Leo

Leo watched as his brothers geared up for the surface.

Raph tightened the wraps around his fists. Donnie adjusted something on one of his wrist gadgets while muttering to himself. Mikey spun his nunchucks before hooking them onto his belt with entirely too much confidence.

Not far away, Jules pulled on the jacket April had loaned her.

It swallowed her frame slightly, sleeves hanging past her wrists, but she looked warmer than she had the night before. Winter was creeping into New York fast.

Leo still didn’t want her going.

He knew she’d be safer in the lair. But she’d made reasonable points. If there was information hidden in her apartment, she’d recognize what mattered faster than they would. And if she was going to be staying with them for more than a night or two…

His chest tightened slightly at the thought.

She deserved her own things. Not borrowed clothes and makeshift shelter.

Still, her last comment from earlier kept replaying in his head.

I’ve got a pretty good protector on my side.

Protector.

That word shouldn’t have hit him as hard as it did.

Protecting people was what he did. His brothers. This city.

So why did it feel different hearing it from her?

“Ready?” Leo asked once everyone looked prepared.

“Let’s kick it,” Mikey said immediately.

Raph groaned. “One day I’m takin’ away your speaking privileges.”

“You’d miss me.”

“Not even a little.”

Jules laughed softly under her breath.

Leo’s eyes flicked toward her automatically.

The sound made something warm settle in his chest.

—

The trip across the city took longer than Leo liked.

They could’ve taken rooftops. Could’ve moved fast and stayed nearly invisible.

But Jules couldn’t exactly leap twenty feet between buildings.

So they traveled underground instead, moving through the quieter sewer routes beneath Manhattan while the city above drifted deeper into night.

Jules stayed close to Leo the entire walk.

Not clinging. Not scared.

Just... near him.

And Leo hated how much he liked it.

She spent most of the trip talking quietly with Mikey while Donnie occasionally chimed in. Leo mostly listened while scanning ahead.

It meant more to him than he expected seeing her slowly warm up to his brothers.

Jules wasn’t unfriendly.

But she was guarded.

Reserved.

Every word felt carefully chosen.

Mikey could get almost anyone talking eventually. Raph acted like he hated ninety percent of humanity on principle. Donnie usually only bothered engaging with people he found interesting.

Jules somehow fit with all of them already.

Which felt dangerous.

Because Leo was starting to realize he liked having her here.

Way too much.

He wanted to know everything about her.

Why she cared so much about this case.

Why she’d become a lawyer.

Why she’d chased missing people when nobody else cared enough to.

If she had family.

Friends.

Anyone waiting for her.

She hadn’t asked to contact anyone since arriving at the lair.

That bothered him.

Donnie had disabled her old phone after the attack. He was in the process of making her a cyber safe one. If the Foot got access to it, they could trace calls, locations, anything.

Jules had apparently been smart enough not to keep sensitive information on it.

Still.

She hadn’t once said: I need to call someone.

Which made Leo wonder something he wasn’t sure he wanted answered.

Was she really alone?

He almost asked.

But stopped himself.

Because what exactly were they to each other?

He was the strange voice she met in the sewer.

That was it.

They weren’t friends.

And somehow the idea of calling her just a friend felt... wrong.

Leo shoved the thought away hard.

Mission first.

Always.

—

They finally reached the manhole a few blocks from Jules’ apartment building.

Leo motioned for stealth immediately.

One by one, his brothers climbed out first, disappearing silently onto the street.

Leo gestured for Jules to go next.

She nodded and climbed carefully upward.

She reached eye level and continued up and Leo immediately had to look away after catching a glimpse of her…

Focus.

He climbed out after her and spotted his brothers already scaling the nearby rooftops with practiced ease.

Jules tilted her head upward, watching them move.

“They make that look disgustingly easy,” she murmured.

Leo huffed a quiet laugh.

“They’ve had practice.”

He stepped closer and lowered one arm toward her.

“I can carry you.”

Her eyes flicked to his for half a second before she nodded.

Without hesitation, she stepped into his arms.

Leo carefully lifted her against his side, adjusting his grip so one arm supported her while the other climbed.

Her arms wrapped around his neck automatically.

And suddenly she was very close.

Her breath brushed against his skin.

Her hair tickled the side of his face.

One of her hands shifted higher against the back of his neck as he climbed.

Focus, Leonardo.

His grip tightened slightly.

This was way too much contact.

Way too close.

He reached the rooftop and set her down a little too quickly before immediately walking toward Donnie.

Definitely normal behavior.

Donnie glanced over once.

The smirk was instant.

Leo ignored him.

“I’m not picking up movement,” Donnie reported quietly, scanning the apartment building through his goggles.

“Good,” Leo said. “Fall in.”

He pointed quickly.

“Donnie and I enter with Jules first. Raph, Mikey — perimeter sweep and follow behind.”

His brothers nodded.

Leo always tried to assign based on strengths.

Donnie’s tech would help locate hidden drives or tracking devices.

Mikey was curious by nature and would absolutely start opening random cabinets if left unsupervised.

Raph was capable of handling both Mikey and unexpected problems.

Usually.

Leo descended the fire escape with Jules shortly after.

This time when he picked her up, she settled against him easier.

More naturally.

Which somehow made it worse.

He dropped down onto the landing outside her apartment window and tested the lock.

Unlocked.

He exchanged a glance with Jules. Jules had said they entered through this way. No point in locking something back up. At least he hoped.

He slipped inside first.

And immediately felt his stomach sink.

The apartment was destroyed.

Not searched.

Destroyed.

Furniture overturned.

Cabinet doors ripped off hinges.

Glass covered the floor.

Papers and clothing littered nearly every inch of the tiny apartment.

The mattress had been slashed open.

Even the walls showed damage where frames or shelves had been ripped down.

Leo’s chest tightened.

This was her home.

Tiny.

Crowded.

Barely enough space for one person.

But still hers.

And someone had torn through it like animals.

Jules stood completely silent beside him.

Leo waited for anger.

For panic.

For tears.

Anything.

Instead she just stared.

After a long moment, Leo stepped closer carefully.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

Jules swallowed once.

“It’s just stuff.”

But her voice sounded smaller than usual.

She walked toward the bathroom and disappeared inside.

Leo motioned Donnie in through the window.

Donnie immediately started scanning the apartment with a handheld device. He swept the scanner slowly across the destroyed room before glancing toward Leo.

“You’re worried about her.”

Leo kept his eyes on the bathroom doorway. “Obviously.”

“No,” Donnie said carefully. “I mean more than usual.”

Leo finally looked over.

Donnie lifted a brow.

“You’ve been tense since we got here.”

Leo opened his mouth to argue.

Then Jules shouted, “Got it!”

And Leo moved toward her immediately.

Donnie smirked.

“You’re sure?”

Jules emerged holding a ruined tube of lip balm.

Leo blinked.

“What—”

She twisted the bottom off and used tweezers to pull a tiny USB drive from inside.

Leo actually laughed softly.

“You’re a genius.”

A small smile tugged at her mouth.

And before Leo could say anything else—

“Leo!” Raph’s voice suddenly exploded through the communicator. “It’s an ambush—GET OU—”

Static.

Then silence.

Every muscle in Leo’s body locked.

“Jules. Move.”

She reacted instantly.

Good.

Leo grabbed her around the waist just as the apartment door BOOMED under heavy impact.

Donnie spun toward the hallway.

“Multiple heat signatures!”

The door exploded inward.

Foot soldiers poured inside.

“Window!” Leo barked.

Donnie launched himself out first.

Leo followed with Jules in his arms while gunfire erupted behind them.

Glass shattered beside his head.

He landed hard on the fire escape and immediately started climbing upward.

“Hold on!”

Jules tightened her grip around his neck while he scaled the building two steps at a time.

Above them, Donnie was already fighting two Foot soldiers climbing from neighboring windows.

Leo hit the rooftop just as more Foot soldiers emerged from the opposite stairwell door.

Too many.

Way too many.

He set Jules behind him near the ledge.

“Stay behind me,” he ordered. “If I say run, you run.”

She nodded once.

No argument.

The Foot attacked.

Steel clashed instantly.

Leo drew both swords and met the first wave head-on.

Beside him, Donnie’s bo staff cracked against skulls and joints with brutal precision.

But more kept coming.

Leo ducked beneath a strike, drove his elbow into one soldier’s ribs, then spun and slammed a sword hilt across another’s jaw.

One lunged toward Jules—

Leo intercepted instantly, slamming the attacker across the rooftop hard enough to crack concrete.

Then another got through.

Jules grabbed a rusted metal pipe from the roof.

“Jules—!”

She swung.

Missed.

The Foot soldier kicked directly into her injured arm.

She cried out sharply.

Something inside Leo snapped.

He surged forward violently, disarming one attacker before grabbing another by the chest and hurling him clean off the rooftop.

Donnie moved beside him again.

“We need extraction now!”

“Where are Raph and Mikey?!”

“No signal!”

Three more Foot climbed over the ledge.

Two rushed Jules.

One grabbed her arm.

The other caught her leg.

They started dragging her backward.

“NO!”

Leo cut through the soldier in front of him and sprinted.

Jules fought like hell.

She kicked one directly between the legs hard enough to drop him instantly.

The second lost his grip when she slammed an elbow into his throat.

Leo was almost there—

Then another Foot soldier appeared from nowhere.

Jules jerked backward instinctively.

Her heel caught an overturned crate.

And suddenly—

She disappeared over the edge.

“JULIET!”

Leo hit the ledge so hard his knees slammed concrete.

His stomach dropped into nothing.

Then—

“Little early to start falling for Fearless, dontcha think?”

Leo looked down.

Raph hung upside down from the fire escape below using only his legs to anchor himself while one massive arm held tightly onto Jules’ leg.

Jules dangled several stories above the alley, eyes wide with terror.

Mikey climbed upward nearby.

“Ten points for dramatic timing!”

Relief hit Leo so hard it nearly made him dizzy.

Raph hauled Jules upward steadily and deposited her safely onto the fire escape beside him.

“Guys!” Donnie shouted while fighting two more Foot soldiers. “Plan?!”

Leo snapped back instantly.

“Retreat! Exit strategy green!”

Smoke bombs exploded across the rooftop.

Visibility vanished.

Leo vaulted over the edge, landing beside Jules and immediately pulling her against him again.

Safe.

She was safe.

That was all that mattered.

They disappeared into the alley seconds later, weaving through back routes before dropping into the sewers once more.

Only after several turns and stops did Leo finally slow.

And even then—

He still hadn’t let go of her.

Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - Jules

Jules couldn’t sleep.

When they returned from her apartment, Donnie immediately set up the recovered USB drive through some program he designed to organize all the stolen data.

“It’ll sort duplicates, timelines, names, transfer logs, hidden files, encrypted fragments— honestly this thing is a disaster,” Donnie muttered while typing rapidly across several screens.

“You can do that?” Jules had asked, genuinely stunned.

Donnie looked at her over his goggles. “Jules, respectfully, I can do almost anything.”

“This will take a while,” he finally said after another few minutes. “And it’s late. We’ve all had a night.”

“Especially you,” Leo added, his eyes flicking briefly toward her injured arm.

So Jules found herself back in Leo’s bed wearing the same borrowed clothes from before, someones old tshirt and gym shorts. None of them had expected the apartment to be destroyed beyond recognition. And the brothers said they couldn’t get her more stuff until tomorrow.

So now Jules lay staring at the ceiling while the last forty-eight hours replayed in her head on a loop.

The chase.

The gunshot.

Leo carrying her through the sewers.

Leo carrying her across rooftops.

Leo carrying her out of danger again.

He was so solid.

Steady.

Constant.

Safe.

Which was ridiculous because he was literally a six-foot-something mutant turtle with swords strapped to his shell.

And yet somehow she had never felt safer around another person in her life.

Jules groaned softly and rolled onto her back.

This was bad.

Eventually she gave up on sleep entirely and slipped out of bed. Maybe water would help. Or maybe walking around would burn off some of the restless energy under her skin.

The lair was quieter now.

Most of the lights had been dimmed low, casting soft gold across the concrete and pipes.

As Jules wandered downstairs, she noticed a small lamp glowing near the couch.

Leo sat in a large chair beside it, one elbow resting against the arm while he read through a stack of papers from her case.

Her stomach immediately flipped.

He looked up almost instantly, like he sensed her there before he even saw her.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Leo asked softly.

“No,” Jules admitted. “Just… on edge, I guess.”

Leo nodded slowly.

“How’s your arm?”

“It’s fine.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you sure? I can go get—"

“Leo,” she interrupted gently, “it’s really okay.”

He paused before nodding once.

“Can I join you?” Jules asked quietly.

“Sure.”

Jules walked over to the couch, eyeing the massive thing cautiously before sitting down.

Immediately she sank far deeper than expected.

“Woah—”

The cushion swallowed her nearly to her shoulders, her feet lifting awkwardly off the floor.

Leo blinked.

Then the corner of his mouth twitched.

Jules narrowed her eyes. “Don’t laugh.”

“I didn’t.”

“You were about to.”

“Maybe a little.”

Jules tried to scoot forward and failed miserably.

“This couch is a safety hazard.”

“It’s old,” Leo said, finally setting the papers aside. “Mikey refuses to let us replace it.”

“Why?”

“He says it has character.”

“It has victims.”

That actually made Leo laugh softly.

The sound surprised her a little.

Not because he laughed— she had heard it before— but because it sounded easier now. Less guarded.

Jules gave the couch another determined shove and somehow sank deeper.

“Oh come on—”

Leo stood.

“Here.”

He held out his hand.

Jules stared at it for half a second before taking it.

His hand was warm.

And huge.

Leo gave one pull.

Far too strong.

Jules lurched upward with a startled noise and stumbled directly into him.

Her hands caught against the front of his plastron while Leo instinctively steadied her by the waist.

Both of them froze.

Jules suddenly became very aware of how solid he felt.

Not just big.

Steady.

Like trying to knock over a wall.

Leo seemed equally caught off guard.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, immediately letting go and taking a step back.

“It’s okay,” Jules answered a little too fast.

The silence afterward felt strange.

Not bad.

Just… charged somehow.

Leo cleared his throat and motioned toward the chair beside him.

“That one’s safer.”

Jules eyed the couch one last time. “I don’t trust anything in this room anymore.”

Leo huffed a quiet laugh as she settled carefully into the chair instead.

Thankfully it held.

"Okay," she muttered. "That's significantly less humiliating."

Leo gave a small smile.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

The lair was quiet this late at night. The distant hum of machines and dripping pipes filled the silence between them.

Jules glanced toward the papers Leo had set down.

“You’ve been reading all this?”

Leo nodded.

“Trying to.”

“That sounded painful.”

“There’s just… a lot,” he admitted. “Half of it makes sense. Half of it sounds like Donnie’s science rants.”

Jules smiled and tucked one leg under herself carefully, trying not to bump her injured arm.

“You guys really work together like this all the time?”

Leo glanced toward the darkened areas of the lair where his brothers had disappeared hours ago.

“Pretty much.”

“And nobody kills each other?”

“Occasionally Raph tries.”

Jules laughed softly.

“But no,” Leo continued after a second. “It works. Most of the time.”

There was something warm in his voice when he talked about them.

Fond.

Protective.

Jules noticed that more and more about him.

Everything seemed to come back to protecting someone.

His brothers.

The city.

Her.

“So you’re the responsible one,” Jules observed.

Leo looked confused. “What?”

“The leader,” Jules said.

Leo frowned slightly. “How do you know I’m the leader?”

Jules looked at him like the answer was obvious.

“You literally stand like one.”

Leo blinked. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know,” Jules admitted with a small laugh. “You just do.”

Leo looked unconvinced.

Jules tried to explain.

“You’re always watching everyone else first. Even earlier tonight— you were checking where your brothers were before yourself.” She motioned vaguely toward him. “And everybody looks at you before they do anything. Even when they argue with you.”

Leo crossed his arms slightly. “They argue with me constantly.”

“Yeah, but they still follow you.”

That made him go quiet.

Jules studied him for a second before continuing.

“You also do this thing where you put yourself between people and danger without thinking about it.”

Leo opened his mouth to object.

“You literally used your body as a shield on the rooftop,” she interrupted.

“That was different.”

“It really wasn’t.”

Leo looked down briefly, almost uncomfortable with the observation.

Jules tilted her head slightly.

“You carry responsibility like it weighs a thousand pounds,” she said softly. “But you still carry it anyway.”

That one visibly caught him off guard.

The room went quiet.

Then Leo gave a small awkward shrug.

“I’m the oldest.”

Jules smiled faintly.

“No,” she said gently. “I think it’s more than that.”

Leo blinked once like nobody had ever said that to him before.

Then he looked oddly embarrassed by it.

“I just… try to keep everyone together,” he said quietly.

Jules studied him for a moment.

It fit.

Everything about him fit that role.

Even the way he listened when she spoke.

Like every word mattered.

“You’re good at it,” she said before she could stop herself.

Leo looked over at her.

Really looked at her.

And suddenly Jules became hyper aware that they were alone again.

The room felt smaller somehow.

Warmer.

She quickly looked away first.

And that was when Leo softly said:

“I’m sorry about your apartment.”

Jules looked down.

“Oh, it’s fine.”

“It doesn’t seem fine.”

She frowned slightly.

Why did he think he knew her so well?

Worse—

Why was he right?

“I guess…” Jules sighed softly. “I don’t know.”

Leo waited patiently.

No pushing. No interrupting.

Just waiting.

“I moved around a lot when I was younger,” she admitted quietly. “And I worked really hard to get through school and get a job and finally have something that was mine.”

Her throat tightened slightly.

“Even though it was tiny and falling apart and smelled like laundry detergent half the time…” she laughed weakly, “…it was mine.”

Leo was quiet for a moment.

“You know,” he said carefully, “most people lose things and immediately talk about how much they cost.”

Jules looked down at her hands.

“You talked about what it meant.”

Something in her chest hurt at that.

“That apartment was proof I survived,” she admitted softly.

Leo’s expression shifted.

Softer.

Sadder.

Like he understood far more than she intended to say aloud.

“You should be proud,” he said firmly. “It was a nice place.”

Jules huffed a quiet laugh.

“Leo, it was a two-hundred-fifty-square-foot studio above a laundromat with peeling paint.”

“I may not have seen it before tonight,” he replied, “but I could tell you took care of it.”

His eyes met hers steadily.

“It mattered because it mattered to you.”

Jules suddenly felt shy.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

Then after a moment—

“For… everything. You didn’t have to help me. Or investigate with me. Or let me stay in your room.”

“You can stay there as long as you need,” Leo said immediately.

The words settled heavily between them.

Jules held his gaze a little too long.

Dangerously long.

“Careful,” she said quietly.

Leo frowned slightly. “Careful?”

“You keep saying things like that.”

“And?”

“And eventually I'm going to start thinking you actually mean it."

Leo's expression changed instantly.

Like the thought hit him somewhere deep.

Before he could answer—

“My son.”

Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin.

Jules whipped around so fast she almost fell out of the chair.

A tall figure stepped from the shadows at the edge of the lair.

Fur.

Tail.

Walking stick.

Rat.

Very large rat.

Leo immediately stood.

“Sensei,” he greeted respectfully. “You’ve returned.”

“I have,” the rat replied calmly. “And I see we have company.”

Jules immediately stood too, suddenly hyperaware she was wearing borrowed clothes while meeting what appeared to be Leo’s father.

Why did that make her nervous?

“Hello, my dear,” the creature said warmly. “I am Master Splinter. Father of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael.”

Jules blinked rapidly.

“Hi... Juliet Montgomery," Jules tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, immediately fumblingand “I’m here for Leo— I mean with Leo— I mean Leo brought me here— he helped me and— oh my god.”

She wanted the floor to swallow her whole.

Beside her, Leo looked equally embarrassed.

“I see,” Splinter said calmly.

Jules wanted to die.

“Donnie said he sent updates,” Leo quickly redirected.

“I received them,” Splinter replied. Then his eyes settled kindly on Jules. “Miss Montgomery. Would you care for tea?”

“Oh— um— sure?” she glanced at Leo

“Excellent.”

Tea with Splinter was brutal at first.

Jules felt awkward and out of place and deeply aware she was drinking tea with a giant mutant rat who somehow carried himself with more grace than most judges she’d met in court.

But gradually the conversation became easier.

Leo and Jules explained everything that had happened over the past several days— leaving out certain more personal details.

“You are doing well, my son,” Splinter told Leo eventually.

Jules watched Leo straighten slightly at the praise.

Interesting.

He really valued his father’s approval. Or he really enjoyed being praised. Jules quietly filed that information away.

Then Splinter turned toward her.

“And you are very strong, Juliet Montgomery.”

Jules immediately blushed.

“I am glad my son was there to aid you in your time of need.”

Me too, she heard a voice in her head say.

“But it is nearly morning,” Splinter continued. “You should both prepare for the day ahead.”

The tea meeting finally ended.

Leo walked Jules back upstairs toward his room.

The second they were out of earshot—

Jules smacked his arm.

“Ow,” Leo said automatically.

“Don’t act like that hurt! How could you?!”

“What did I do?!”

“You live down here with mutant rat dad and DIDN’T THINK TO MENTION THAT?”

Leo visibly flinched.

“Sorry! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

“My first impression of your father was in borrowed pajamas with a gunshot wound and sleeping in his son's bed!"

Leo looked like he was actively trying not to smile.

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh my god.”

“He liked you.”

Jules stopped.

“What?”

Leo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I can tell.”

Why did that make her ridiculously happy?

“Oh my god,” Jules groaned, hitting his arm again.

Leo laughed quietly.

“I can’t believe you,” she muttered while backing toward his bedroom door. “I’m changing.”

Then she disappeared into the room and shut the door behind her.

Jules leaned back against it immediately.

Her heart was racing again.

Why did it matter so much that Leo thought his father approved of her?

And maybe worse—

Why did she want that approval so badly?

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Chapter 12 – Leo

Leo stared at the door that had just closed behind Juliet.

For a second, he stayed frozen in the hallway outside his room, replaying the last ten minutes in his head like a fight he couldn’t quite recover from.

Her laugh.

Her blushing.

The way she’d looked at him when she said he stood like a leader.

The way she’d panicked after meeting Splinter.

The way she’d hit his arm afterward.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck and let out a quiet breath.

He was in trouble.

“Morning!”

Mikey’s voice echoed down the hallway like a car alarm.

Leo blinked back to reality just as Mikey bounced around the corner carrying three bags of chips for absolutely no reason.

“Why are you always so loud in the morning?” Raph grumbled from somewhere behind him.

“Because,” Mikey announced proudly, “today is a beautiful day.”

Raph narrowed his eyes. “It’s too early for this.”

“Angelcakes is coming!”

Leo sighed and started walking toward the stairs.

“Oh, he’s got it bad,” Mikey whispered dramatically to Donnie.

“I can hear you.”

“We know,” Donnie replied.

Downstairs Donnie had multiple screens pulled up around the central table. Jules’ files flooded the monitors in organized columns.

“Well,” Donnie said, adjusting his goggles, “good news. My sorting program finished processing the Helix data.”

“And?” Leo asked.

“And there’s enough corruption in here to bury at least six corporations.”

“Nice,” Mikey said.

“Not nice,” Donnie corrected. “Horrifying.”

Before Leo could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance.

April walked in first carrying a cardboard drink tray while Casey followed behind her with another bag over his shoulder.

“Please tell me one of those is mine,” Mikey said immediately.

“None of them are yours,” April answered.

“Cruel.”

Leo stepped forward and took one of the coffees from the tray.

“That hers?” April asked casually.

Leo nodded once.

Mikey smirked.

Raph smirked harder.

Leo ignored both of them.

April noticed immediately.

“So,” she said, leaning against the table, “tell me about her.”

Leo nearly dropped the coffee.

“What?”

“Juliet,” April clarified patiently. “The girl currently sleeping in your room.”

Mikey made a chuckling noise.

Raph folded his arms. “This should be good.”

Leo tried to focus.

“She’s…,” he started carefully. “Well she’s been investigating Helix for months by herself.”

April waited.

“And?”

“And what?”

“What’s she like?”

Leo opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

“She’s…” Why was this suddenly impossible? All he could think of was her how her hair looked soft and how she sounded when she laughed “She’s—”

“She’s great,” Mikey interrupted dramatically. “Not scared of fearless over here, survived being shot, fell off a building, fought a ninja (or attempted to), and tried to learn Galactic Raiders with me even though she had no idea what she was doing.”

“That game is impossible,” Donnie muttered.

“She only crashed the ship six times.”

“Eight,” Donnie corrected.

April smiled slightly. “Sounds determined.”

“What’d you say she does again?” Casey asked.

“She’s a lawyer,” Donnie answered.

Casey frowned immediately.

“A lawyer who stole classified information from a corporation,” he pointed out.

Leo’s shoulders tightened.

“She was trying to help people.”

“Maybe,” Casey replied. “Or maybe you don’t know her as well as you think.”

Raph leaned back in his chair. “Talk to Romeo over here. He met her in the sewer and decided she was trustworthy after like three conversations.”

“That’s not what happened,” Leo said sharply.

Casey crossed his arms. “I’m just saying maybe we should ask why she got so invested in this case in the first place.”

Leo was about to argue back when April said, "Why don't we just ask her."

April sat looking straight at Juliet.

Leo’s stomach dropped.

Juliet stood near the stairwell entrance wearing borrowed clothes.

But it was her expression that made Leo tense.

Guarded.

She’d heard enough.

“Juliet,” Leo started immediately, “we were just—”

“I heard.”

Casey shifted slightly.

April stepped in smoothly before the tension could worsen.

“Casey’s only concerned because people are chasing you,” she said calmly. “He’s not exactly subtle about it.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Raph muttered.

"But we would like to know how you got so deep into this." April said.

“You don’t have to answer anything,” Leo told Jules quickly.

He meant it.

The last thing he wanted was for her to feel cornered here.

Jules stayed quiet for a moment.

“I do appreciate everything,” she said carefully. “Really. The getting shot part probably would’ve gone worse without all of you.”

Mikey nodded solemnly. “True.”

“But some things are…” She hesitated. “Hard to explain.”

April gently slid the coffee toward her.

“Then let's start small,” she suggested kindly. “I’m April O’Neil.”

Jules looked down at the cup.

“Juliet Montgomery.”

“The grumpy one is Casey Jones,” April added.

“I’m not grumpy.”

A tiny smile pulled at Jules’ mouth.

Leo relaxed slightly. He was so grateful for April and her talent tk diffuse situations.

“Why Helix?” April asked softly.

Jules stared at the table for a second. She looked at Leo and he gave a small nod, just as a type of reassurance.

Then she said:

“Evelyn Vale.”

Donnie immediately started typing.

“Who’s that?” Mikey asked.

“One of the missing people connected to Helix,” Jules answered quietly. “That’s how this started.”

Casey leaned forward. “How’d you know she was connected?”

Leo already hated where this was going.

“She was going to participate in one of their paid medical studies,” Jules explained. “People disappear easier when nobody important notices.”

“And you knew her how?”

The question landed harder than Casey intended.

Leo saw it immediately in the way Jules’ shoulders stiffened.

“Casey,” Leo warned quietly.

But Jules answered anyway.

“We were in the same group home.” She didn't whisper it. She said it plainly. Like it was nothing more than a fact someone would say in passing. The sky is blue.

Silence.

Not emotional silence.

Not dramatic silence.

Just… stillness.

Because suddenly a lot of things about Juliet made sense.

The independence.

The guarded personality.

The way she brushed off pain.

The way she reacted to losing her apartment.

The way she never talked about family.

Casey looked like he regretted pushing.

Still, he spoke again.

“So you started investigating because your friend disappeared?”

Leo stepped forward before Jules could retreat into herself further.

“That’s enough.”

Casey frowned. “I’m asking questions.”

“She’s not under investigation,” Leo said firmly. “And we’re not interrogating her.”

The room went still.

Leo rarely used that tone with family.

Casey held his stare another second before lifting both hands.

“Fine.”

Donnie suddenly looked up from his monitor.

“Got something.”

Everyone turned immediately.

Donnie adjusted the screen toward them.

“Evelyn Vale entered the Helix building fourteen months ago.” He tapped the monitor. “No recorded exit.”

Jules leaned forward instantly.

“There’s three associated medical files,” Donnie continued. “Most of them restricted.”

“Can you crack them?” Leo asked.

Donnie looked offended.

“Obviously.”

The tension slowly dissolved after that.

For hours they worked through files together.

Donnie and Jules started connecting patterns in patient transfers.

Casey helped organize missing persons reports.

April cross referenced Helix employees against public records.

Even Raph eventually started contributing once Donnie discovered coded shipment manifests.

Leo mostly watched Jules.

Not intentionally.

Well.

Mostly not intentionally.

She became completely different while working.

Focused.

Sharp.

Passionate.

She spoke faster when excited.

Paced when thinking.

Bit the inside of her cheek when frustrated.

At one point she started rubbing her injured arm absentmindedly and Leo quietly walked over to place a cup of water and a few pain killers down next to her before returning to his spot.

She looked surprised.

But she took the pills.

Later, when her coffee went empty, he refilled it before she even asked.

Mikey noticed.

Of course he noticed.

The idiot practically vibrated with smugness.

By the end of the night, Casey had noticeably softened toward Jules too.

She was still guarded.

Still careful.

But she was trying.

And Leo respected that more than anything.

Eventually April glanced at the time and stood.

“We should head out.”

Casey groaned. “Already?”

“You have work tomorrow.”

“So do you.”

April ignored him and walked over to Jules, quietly handing her another bag. They had a whispered conversation Leo couldn't make out.

After April and Casey left, Donnie approached Jules holding her phone.

“Finished,” he announced proudly. "I upgraded the security, encrypted your communications, removed tracking vulnerabilities, and linked it to our shell network.”

“…I understood maybe four of those words.”

“It’s safe now,” Donnie simplified.

Jules smiled slightly. “Thank you.”

Then she walked off to make a phone call.

Leo tried not to listen.

Failed immediately.

“Yes, Mr. Whitmore,” Jules said through the doorway. “I’m alright… no nothing to worry about... I'll have to let you know... right."

Leo frowned slightly.

Something about her tone sounded off.

Too careful.

Too measured.

Raph immediately noticed Leo watching her.

“Dude,” he said, “you’re staring again.”

“I am not.”

“You absolutely are.”

“I’m observing.”

“Same thing.”

Leo contemplated violence.

Juliet wandered back over putting her phone into her pocket. Shortly after each brother dispersed to their own activities.

“Do you want to get some air?” Leo asked

“Yes.”

The walk through the tunnels was quiet.

Not awkward quiet.

Comfortable quiet.

When they finally reached the surface, Leo instinctively lowered an arm toward her.

Jules stepped into it without hesitation.

That probably shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did.

He carried her easily up the side of the building, trying very hard not to think about how naturally she fit against him now.

The city stretched endlessly around them once they reached the rooftop.

Cold air.

Distant traffic.

The Hudson glittering beneath the moonlight.

Leo set her down carefully beside him.

For a while, they just sat there listening to the water.

Then Jules spoke softly.

“I don’t think your friends like me very much.”

Leo looked over immediately.

“What? They do.”

She gave him a look.

“…they will.” he corrected.

That earned a quiet laugh.

“They’ve all been betrayed before,” Leo admitted. “Pretty badly. They just need some time to warm up."

Jules nodded slowly.

“You take a while to warm up too,” he added gently.

Juliet kibd of shrugged the comment off.

Silence settled again.

Then:

“How old are you?”

Leo blinked at the sudden question.

“Twenty six.”

Jules nodded.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty four.”

Leo looked genuinely surprised.

“That’s young for a lawyer.”

“I started college early.”

“How early?”

“Sixteen.”

Leo stared.

“…Seriously?”

Jules shrugged like it wasn’t impressive.

Leo thought it was one of the most impressive things he’d ever heard.

“How did you even manage that?”

She tucked her hands deeper into the sleeves of the sweater.

“I just worked a lot.”

Leo studied her quietly.

There was definitely more to that story.

But he didn’t push.

After a minute he noticed her glancing at him repeatedly.

“You want to ask something.”

Jules hesitated.

“I don’t want to be rude.”

“You can ask me anything.”

She looked at him carefully.

“How did you become… you?”

Leo smiled faintly.

“A turtle?”

She groaned softly. “That sounded worse out loud.”

“It’s okay.”

And surprisingly—

It was.

So Leo told her.

About the mutagen.

About Splinter.

About growing up hidden underground.

About training.

About saving the city.

And through the entire story, Jules listened like every word mattered.

Not once interrupting.

Not once looking uncomfortable.

Just… listening.

By the time he finished, the city had gone quieter around them.

Jules looked out over the harbor.

“I was right.”

“About what?”

“You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

Leo laughed softly.

“What about you?”

Jules snorted. “No mutations or world saving over here. Just foster homes and student loans."

“I think your the most interesting girl I've met." Leo said softly.

She looked down immediately, pulling the sweater sleeves over her hands.

Leo noticed her shiver.

“You’re cold.”

“I’m fine.”

Leo stood.

“We’re going back.”

Jules rolled her eyes slightly.

But she still stepped into his arms again when he reached for her.

And neither of them mentioned how Leo carried her all the way back to the lair.

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Chapter 13 – Jules

The last few days had blurred together.

Files.

Coffee.

Notes.

Connections.

More coffee.

The Helix investigation had completely consumed the lair.

Jules had contacted Richard Whitmore only once, telling him she would be away for a while. He hadn’t pressed much beyond that, which at the time she had appreciated.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

She had also officially canceled the lease on her apartment.

There was nothing left to go back to anyway.

So here she was.

Starting over again.

Only this time… it didn’t feel as terrifying.

Because every time panic started to creep in, every time she thought about having nowhere to go and no real plan for the future, her mind immediately drifted toward one person.

Leo.

The realization should have scared her more than it did.

Jules had trusted people before.

Well… sort of.

She trusted Richard Whitmore professionally. She respected him. Looked up to him even.

But Leo was becoming something entirely different.

Someone she wanted to tell things to.

Someone she wanted near her.

Someone she instinctively looked for whenever she walked into a room.

And honestly?

It wasn’t just Leo anymore.

Somehow, impossibly, she’d started getting attached to all of them.

Mikey dragged her into movie nights and terrible video games whenever the investigation stalled. He celebrated every tiny victory like they had just saved the world.

Donnie filled in every gap in the case she couldn’t solve herself and might genuinely be one of the smartest people she had ever met.

Even Raph had softened around her in his own strange way. They’d fallen into a quiet sort of camaraderie, mostly built on mutual sarcasm and teasing Leo whenever possible.

And April…

Jules honestly thought April might be one of the kindest people alive.

The reporter brought her clothes, toiletries, notebooks, anything she might need. When Jules tried offering money, April had looked genuinely offended.

Even Casey had started easing up around her.

They still clashed occasionally, but there was respect there now.

Trust, maybe.

But none of it felt like Leo.

Because Leo was…

Different.

Everywhere she looked in the lair, people naturally followed him.

She’d watched them train.

Watched the brothers glance toward him before making decisions.

Watched even Casey and April defer to him without realizing it.

And somehow despite all that responsibility, Leo still found time for her.

Every night, without fail, once work on the investigation slowed down, he would quietly ask:

“Need some air?”

And every single time, Jules said yes.

Then they would end up somewhere high above the city watching New York breathe beneath them while talking about absolutely nothing important.

Favorite movies.

Bad childhood memories disguised as jokes.

The weirdest thing Mikey had ever cooked.

Nothing meaningful.

And yet somehow everything meaningful.

Jules had never had this before.

Never had someone care about the small details of her life.

Leo asked questions because he genuinely wanted the answers.

And it was becoming dangerously easy to imagine this lasting longer than it should.

The case was almost ready.

That was the important part.

They had enough evidence to bury Helix Dynamics publicly.

With Casey’s connections to the NYPD and April’s media resources, they could force a real investigation.

And hopefully—

Hopefully—

Find the missing people.

Because none of this really started with Helix.

It started with Evelyn Vale.

Jules barely knew her.

That was the ridiculous part.

They’d only spent around a year together in the same group home before Jules managed to emancipate herself and leave.

But she remembered Evelyn.

Quiet.

Nervous.

Sweet.

The kind of person who apologized too much.

Months ago, Evelyn had reached out saying she was moving closer to the city and didn’t know anyone nearby.

Jules normally avoided reconnecting with people from her past.

But something about Evelyn’s message had tugged at her.

So they planned coffee.

And Evelyn never showed up.

She just vanished.

And Jules couldn’t let it go.

“Looks like we’re almost done organizing everything,” Donnie announced one night, spinning one of the monitors toward the group.

Jules rubbed at her tired eyes.

“There’s still too much we don’t know.”

“Yes,” Leo agreed calmly from beside her, “but this is enough to start something official.”

“Exactly!” Mikey said around a mouthful of popcorn. “We’re crushing it.”

“I still think we’re missing something,” Raph muttered.

Jules looked over. “Like what?”

Raph pointed toward one of the documents.

“These transfers. They’ve got legal authorization signatures but no printed names attached.”

Donnie leaned closer.

“Huh.”

Jules’ stomach tightened.

Because she understood exactly what Raph was seeing.

These weren’t simple medical authorizations.

Someone from a law office had helped push these through.

Someone willing to sign away legal rights.

And suddenly—

A memory surfaced.

Richard standing in his office months ago saying the firm was struggling.

Richard suddenly interested in Helix.

Richard asking oddly specific questions.

Richard saying goodbye.

Not goodnight.

Goodbye.

Jules stared at the files.

No.

No way.

“Earth to sugarpie,” Mikey said.

Jules blinked.

“Sorry.”

“We should call it for tonight,” Leo said gently. “Everyone’s exhausted.”

Mikey practically melted into the couch. “Finally.”

The others slowly started heading off.

Leo lingered beside Jules.

“Need some air?”

Normally she would’ve said yes immediately.

But her brain was moving too fast now.

“I should sleep,” she said distractedly. “I think better after resting.”

Leo studied her for a moment.

Too observant.

Too perceptive.

But eventually he nodded.

“Goodnight, Juliet.”

“Goodnight, Leonardo.”

The use of his full name made warmth spread through his expression every single time.

Jules escaped to his room before she could think about that too hard.

She sat on the edge of his bed and reopened several files.

Legal authorizations.

Transfer forms.

Processing waivers.

And then—

Her stomach dropped.

One line.

One sentence.

A phrase Richard used constantly.

The exact same wording appeared on one of the forms.

Jules froze.

“No…”

She grabbed another file.

Then another.

And suddenly the pattern became horrifyingly obvious.

Richard Whitmore.

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

Richard helped people.

He helped her.

He fought for kids nobody cared about.

He wouldn’t—

Would he?

Jules sat frozen for nearly ten minutes.

Then she stood abruptly.

Only one way to know.

She threw on her jacket and quietly slipped out of Leo’s room.

The lair was dark and silent.

No one noticed her leave.

Good.

She just needed confirmation.

That was all.

Then she’d come back and tell the turtles everything.

And if she was wrong—

God, she hoped she was wrong.

For one brief second she considered waking Leo.

But what if she misunderstood everything?

What if they stormed into Whitmore Legal accusing an innocent man?

No.

She’d handle this herself first.

The cold slapped her immediately once she reached the surface.

Snow drifted lightly through the city.

Jules shoved her hands into her pockets as she made her way toward Whitmore Legal Aid.

The building looked almost eerie this late at night.

Only one office light remained on.

Richard’s.

Jules’ chest tightened.

She walked inside slowly.

The office was silent except for Richard’s muffled voice behind his door.

“Yes, I know,” he was saying sharply into the phone. “No, don’t worry about her. I’ll handle it.”

Jules stopped cold.

Her pulse spiked.

“I said I’ll take care of it.”

Then the call ended.

Jules stepped into the doorway.

“Who was that?”

Richard nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Jesus Christ— Juliet!”

He stood quickly, pressing a hand to his chest.

“What are you doing here?”

“Who were you talking to?”

“A client.”

“At midnight?”

“They’re important clients.” He forced a smile. “Pretty late for you to drop by too. Haven’t seen you in weeks.”

Something in his expression looked wrong.

Not relieved.

Not worried.

Surprised.

Like he genuinely hadn’t expected her alive.

“Were you expecting to?” Jules asked quietly.

Richard frowned. “What?”

Jules stepped farther inside.

“I’ve made progress on my case.”

Richard’s eyes sharpened immediately.

“Oh?”

“I think it could bring a lot of publicity.”

“Well,” Richard said carefully, “that would certainly help the firm.”

“Right…”

The silence stretched.

Then Richard smiled thinly.

“Why don’t you bring me the transfer files you recovered? We can go through them together.”

Jules’ blood went cold.

She never told him she had transfer files.

Richard realized it too late.

His expression shifted.

And something inside Jules shattered.

“I hoped,” she said quietly, “that it wouldn’t be true.”

Richard’s face hardened.

“What are you talking about?”

“The authorization signatures.” Jules stepped closer. “You signed them.”

Silence.

“You helped Helix abduct people.”

Richard looked away first.

“I did what I had to do.”

Jules stared at him in disbelief.

“You signed away their rights.”

“You think life is that simple?” Richard snapped suddenly. “This firm was dying!”

“So you sold people?!”

“I kept us alive!”

“At the cost of innocent people?!”

“I didn’t ask questions!”

The outburst echoed through the office.

Richard breathed heavily.

Then quieter:

“I just did what they told me.”

Jules felt sick.

“What are they doing to people, Richard?”

“I don’t know!”

“You’re lying.”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

The silence afterward felt worse.

Then Richard laughed bitterly.

“You really think you’re innocent in all this?”

Jules frowned.

“You think I don’t know how you got that information?” he continued. “Fraud. Theft. Corporate espionage.”

“That’s not remotely the same thing.”

“No?” Richard stepped closer. “And those creatures you’ve been hiding with? Those mutants?”

Jules froze.

Her blood ran cold.

“How do you know about them?”

Richard smiled sadly.

“You think they aren’t already watching this building? You think they didn’t expect you to run straight back here?”

Panic slammed into her chest.

No.

No no no.

Leo.

Jules immediately turned for the door.

Foot soldiers stepped from the shadows blocking the exit.

Her stomach dropped.

Richard looked genuinely regretful.

“I never wanted you hurt.”

The Foot grabbed her arms before she could run.

Jules fought instantly.

“Let go of me!”

Richard stepped closer.

“We’re alike, Juliet.”

She wanted to spit in his face.

“We survive,” he continued softly. “No matter what.”

Jules glared at him with pure hatred.

“You’re pathetic.”

Richard’s jaw tightened.

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But I’m alive.”

Then he leaned closer.

“And if sacrificing you keeps me that way… so be it.”

Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 - Leo

Leo woke with a start.

For a second he didn’t move, eyes adjusting to the dim light of the lair, heart already beating too fast.

Something felt wrong.

Not danger exactly.

Just… wrong.

He sat up from the makeshift bedding he had thrown together downstairs and listened.

The lair was quiet. Pipes hummed softly somewhere overhead. Water dripped steadily in the distance.

Everything normal.

Still, the feeling wouldn’t leave.

Leo stood and started walking.

He checked the kitchen first. Empty.

Training area. Empty.

Bathroom. Empty.

Then he headed toward his room.

The moment he pushed the door open, his stomach dropped.

Empty.

The blankets were tossed aside.

Her borrowed sweater was gone.

So were her shoes.

“Juliet?”

Silence.

Leo’s heartbeat kicked harder.

He turned sharply, eyes scanning the room until he noticed papers scattered across his desk. One file had been pulled loose from the stack.

Highlighted.

His eyes caught the name immediately.

RW.

Then Leo remembered the way Jules had stared at the paperwork earlier. Quiet. Thinking.

“She figured something out,” he muttered.

And then he saw the hatch door downstairs slightly cracked open against the concrete floor.

Fear hit him so fast it almost felt like anger.

“DONNIE!”

The lair exploded into motion.

Footsteps thundered from every direction.

“What happened?” Raph barked.

“Jules is gone,” Leo snapped.

“What?!” Mikey shouted.

Donnie was already moving toward the tech station. “Give me her tracker.”

Leo paced like a caged animal while Donnie worked.

Come on. Come on.

Donnie’s fingers flew across the keyboard.

“She’s moving— no wait…” He frowned. “Signal stopped.”

“Where?” Leo demanded.

Donnie looked up.

“Whitmore Legal Aid.”

Leo froze.

Then his jaw tightened.

“She figured out it was him.”

“She went alone?!” Raph snapped.

“Oh, this is so bad,” Mikey muttered.

Leo was already grabbing his swords.

“Move.”

—

Leo hadn’t moved this fast in years.

The city blurred around him as he sprinted across rooftops with his brothers close behind.

His thoughts raced faster than his feet.

Why didn’t she wake him?

Why didn’t she trust him?

Please be okay.

Please.

They reached the building within minutes.

A light glowed from one of the upper floors.

“There,” Donnie said.

Leo was already climbing.

Then—

A scream.

Jules’ voice.

Panic shot through him.

Leo crashed through the office window without hesitation, glass exploding around him as he rolled into the room.

His brothers stormed in behind him.

The scene hit him instantly.

Foot soldiers.

Jules restrained between two of them.

And a man in a wrinkled suit standing near the desk.

Richard Whitmore.

Leo’s eyes locked on Jules first.

She looked terrified.

Then relieved.

“Leo! Run! It’s coming—”

A hand clamped over her mouth as the Foot started dragging her backward.

Leo’s vision narrowed.

“No time for chatting,” Raph growled.

The fight erupted.

Leo moved fast, slamming one Foot soldier into a filing cabinet hard enough to dent the metal before spinning into another. His katanas flashed under the office lights.

Behind him Mikey swung his nunchucks into someone’s chest while Donnie cracked another soldier across the face with his bo staff.

Leo pushed forward.

Closer to Jules.

She struggled hard against the Foot holding her.

Good, Juliet. Keep fighting. I'm almost there.

Then a massive roar shook the room.

Everyone turned.

A tiger burst through the doorway.

Not a normal tiger.

Huge. Muscled. Monstrous.

Its eyes were completely black.

“What the hell?!” Mikey shouted.

The creature lunged, grabbing Mikey with its claws and throwing him across the office. He slammed into a wall with a painful grunt.

“Mikey!”

Leo assessed the room instantly.

“Raph with me! Donnie get Jules!”

The tiger charged.

Leo crossed his blades just in time to block massive claws from taking his head off. The force shoved him backward across the floor.

Raph came in from the side with his sai, driving the creature away from Leo long enough for him to recover.

The thing fought wild.

Animal.

Ferocious.

Leo ducked beneath another swipe—

Too slow.

Claws tore across his side.

Pain burned through his ribs.

Leo hissed sharply but ignored it.

Then he heard Jules scream.

His head snapped toward her.

Donnie was fighting off two Foot soldiers while Jules tried to break free.

The tiger turned toward her.

No.

Leo grabbed a heavy desk lamp and hurled it directly into the creature’s skull.

“Eyes on me!”

The tiger snarled and charged him.

Leo waited.

Waited—

Then rolled at the last second as the creature crashed through the desk behind him in a shower of splintered wood.

“Mikey!” Leo shouted. “Grab Jules! Exit strategy blue! Raph hold the south exit! Donnie prep the charges!”

His brothers moved instantly.

Mikey vaulted through the chaos and grabbed Jules around the waist just as another Foot soldier lunged for her.

“Miss me, sugarpie?”

“Mikey!”

Raph slammed the office doors shut and ripped the handles clean off.

Donnie planted compact explosives along the support pillars.

Leo kept the tiger occupied alone.

The thing was fast.

Too fast.

It swiped again and Leo barely blocked it. The force rattled his entire arm.

“Leo!” Donnie shouted. “Clear!”

Leo kicked off the desk, flipped backward, and sprinted for the broken window.

The tiger roared behind him.

Leo landed hard on the rooftop outside and immediately reached for Jules.

She crashed against him the second he grabbed her.

Alive.

Safe.

Leo pulled her tightly against his chest before he even realized he was doing it.

“Move!” Raph shouted.

Then—

BOOM.

The charges detonated.

Not enough to destroy the building.

Enough to destroy most object on the flow and shatter the windows surrounding.

They disappeared into the night.

—

By the time they reached the lair, Leo’s emotions were a disaster.

Fear.

Relief.

Anger.

All of it tangled together so tightly he could barely think straight.

He set Jules down near the center platform and immediately turned away from everyone.

He needed a second.

“Uh oh,” Mikey whispered.

Raph smacked the back of his head.

“Shut up.”

Leo took one breath.

Then another.

Then he turned around.

“Mikey, medbay,” he ordered. “Raph contact Casey and Chief Vincent. Tell them they’re looking for Richard Whitmore connected to multiple disappearances and apparently a giant tiger. Donnie send them everything we have.”

His brothers exchanged glances before slowly dispersing.

Donnie paused beside Jules.

“Good luck,” he whispered sympathetically before leaving.

The second they were alone, Jules looked at him carefully.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded so small.

Leo stared at her.

“Why?” Leo asked finally.

Jules blinked at him.

“Why would you go alone?” His voice was tight now, emotion bleeding through despite how hard he tried to control it. “Why wouldn’t you wake me up? Why wouldn’t you tell me what you figured out?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.

“That’s not good enough.”

Jules flinched slightly.

Leo immediately hated himself for it, but the fear from tonight was still clawing at his chest.

“You disappeared,” he said, softer this time but somehow worse. “Do you have any idea what I thought when I saw your room empty?”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did.” Leo ran a hand over his face. “You went to confront the man helping the Foot by yourself. You could’ve died tonight.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

Jules looked away.

For a second Leo thought she wouldn’t answer.

Then—

“Because I didn’t know how to ask for help.”

The anger in Leo cracked a little.

Jules laughed once, bitter and embarrassed all at once.

“I know that probably sounds ridiculous after everything you and your brothers have done for me but…"

She crossed her arms tightly over herself.

“I kept thinking if I could just figure it out first— if I could confirm it before dragging anyone else into it—”

“You wouldn’t have been dragging us into anything.”

“But that’s the problem,” she snapped suddenly. “You act like helping me is easy!”

Leo stared at her.

“It’s not normal, Leo.”

The room went quiet.

“You barely knew me and you let me stay here. Your brothers risk their lives for me like it’s automatic. You keep showing up every single time something goes wrong and expecting nothing back from me.”

Her voice softened near the end.

“I don’t know what to do with that.”

Leo’s anger had completely faded now.

Jules finally looked up at him.

“I’m not used to you.”

Something in his chest tightened painfully.

“I’m not used to people staying,” she admitted quietly. “Or caring without wanting something from me first. Everyone wants something."

Leo swallowed hard.

Because suddenly this wasn’t about Whitmore anymore.

It was about the fact that Jules genuinely hadn’t expected anyone to come for her tonight.

And he couldn’t stand that thought.

“I just want..." Leo's voice died off.

You.

I just want you safe. He corrected in his head.

Silence settled between them.

Heavy.

Emotional.

Jules looked down at the floor, suddenly unable to hold his gaze.

“I think…” she started softly. “I think maybe I shouldn’t stay here anymore.”

Leo’s head snapped up immediately.

“What?”

“I almost got all of you hurt tonight.”

“You didn’t.”

“I led them right to you.”

“They already knew about us.”

“But I still—”

“No.” Leo stepped closer before she could finish. “No, we are not doing this.”

Jules blinked at the firmness in his voice.

“Leo—”

“You are not leaving.”

Her throat tightened slightly.

“You don’t understand,” she said quietly. “Everywhere I go lately, people get dragged into this mess. My apartment got destroyed. Whitmore—” her voice caught bitterly around the name, “—turned out to be involved from the beginning. And now your family—”

“My family chose to help you.”

“But what if something worse happens next time?”

Leo stared at her for a long moment.

Then—

“Then we handle it.”

Simple.

Certain.

Like there had never been another option.

Jules felt something dangerous shift in her chest at the look on his face.

Steady.

Protective.

Completely unwavering.

“You can’t keep saving me every time I make a reckless decision,” she tried quietly.

Leo let out one short breath of disbelief.

“Juliet, do you honestly think I’m going to let you walk out of here alone right now?”

Her heart stumbled a little.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” His voice lowered. “You are staying.”

The words settled over her heavily.

Not controlling.

Not demanding.

Just… absolute.

Like he had already decided she belonged somewhere safe and he intended to make sure she stayed there.

Jules opened her mouth to argue again—

Then Leo shifted slightly.

His expression tightened for half a second.

A sharp inhale.

Jules frowned immediately.

“What?”

“I’m fine.”

“That was not a fine face.”

Leo glanced away.

Which was answer enough for Jules.

Jules stepped forward before he could stop her and grabbed his wrist, pulling his arm slightly away from his side.

The movement made him hiss quietly through his teeth.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh my god.”

“It’s nothing."

“Leonardo.”

Only then did she notice the dark cuts carved across his side, blood still slowly trailing down beneath the damaged straps of his gear.

Three deep claw marks.

When Leo lowered his arm.

Pain immediately shot through his side.

He winced sharply.

Jules’ eyes widened.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“Leonardo.”

“Juliet.”

Her expression tightened instantly.

“Donnie should look at it.”

“He’s with Mikey.”

“Then I’ll get April.”

“Jules.”

She stopped.

“I can handle it.”

She crossed her arms.

“Can you?”

Leo opened his mouth.

Closed it.

“…Mostly.”

That earned him a look.

Finally she sighed.

“Where’s the med kit?”

“In my room.”

Leo led her quietly down the hall.

The lair had gone strangely silent now that the adrenaline was fading. Somewhere in the distance he could hear Donnie arguing with Mikey about concussion symptoms.

Everything else felt far away.

Except the sting in his side.

And Juliet walking beside him.

Once inside his room, Leo shut the door softly behind them.

He grabbed the med kit and set it on the desk.

Then reluctantly started removing his gear.

The second the straps came loose, pain flared across his ribs.

Jules watched carefully from nearby.

“Are you sure I can't grab Donnie?”

“I can manage.”

Leo grabbed disinfectant and a cloth before awkwardly trying to reach the cuts at his side.

The problem was he couldn’t actually see them.

He dabbed blindly once.

Missed completely.

Jules tried not to smile.

“You are absolutely terrible at this.”

“I usually use mirrors.”

“You don’t have one.”

“…Excellent point.”

She stepped closer slowly.

“Do you want help?”

Leo looked at her.

Way too close.

“…Okay.”

Jules took the cloth gently from his hand.

Her fingers brushed his.

Leo’s pulse jumped immediately.

He turned slightly, exposing the cuts along his ribs.

The room suddenly felt very small.

Jules moved carefully.

The cloth touched his skin.

Leo inhaled sharply.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s fine.”

But his voice sounded rough.

She cleaned the cuts slowly, focused entirely on what she was doing.

Leo tried very hard not to think about how gentle her hands were.

Or how close she stood.

Or the way her breath brushed against his arm every time she leaned in.

Focus, Leo.

Jules set the cloth down.

Then her fingertips lightly brushed beneath the cuts.

Just checking the skin.

Careful.

Gentle.

Why was he nervous?

It was just Juliet.

Just bandages.

But this didn’t feel like treating an injury.

It felt intimate.

Her fingers traced lightly along the edge of his plastron like she was trying to understand how he fit together.

Heat crawled up Leo’s neck.

He focused very hard on breathing normally.

Jules seemed completely lost in thought now.

Studying him.

Learning him.

Her fingertips drifted slowly along the curve where shell met skin.

Leo felt goosebumps rise instantly across his arms.

Leo’s brain completely short-circuited. His muscles locked instantly beneath her touch. He had never— No one had ever— Juliet’s touch was impossibly soft. Curious. Careful. Like she was trying to understand him without words. Leo could feel every single place her fingertips moved.

Then her hand moved lower.

Close to his hip.

Too low. His breathing getting less controlled every second she continued. Focus. Focus. Focus.

Ger fingers grazed the top of his pants.

Leo’s breath caught sharply before he could stop it.

Jules froze.

Her eyes snapped up to his.

Both of them suddenly realizing exactly how close they were.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, jerking her hand back. “I’m sorry.”

Leo genuinely could not think.

Jules looked horrified with herself now, face burning red as she quickly grabbed the bandages.

She applied them with visibly shaking hands.

Leo stayed completely still while she pressed them gently into place.

Her fingers lingered for half a second too long.

Then she stepped back immediately.

“I should... I’ll just let you..."

Then she practically fled the room.

The door shut behind her.

Leo stood frozen for several seconds.

Then slowly leaned back against the desk and shut his eyes.

He could still feel her hands on him.

Holy shit.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Chapter 15 - Jules

Jules woke slowly, tangled in borrowed blankets and already warm with embarrassment before she even fully opened her eyes.

The second she remembered last night, she groaned and buried her face in the pillow.

Her hand on Leo’s side.

His breathing hitching.

The way she had almost touched—

“Oh my god,” she whispered into the mattress.

She stayed there for another full minute debating if she could realistically live in Leo’s room forever and never face anyone again.

Eventually survival instincts won out.

Jules changed into the clothes April had brought her, fixed her hair as best she could, and cracked the bedroom door open carefully.

Quiet.

Maybe everyone was asleep.

Maybe Leo was training.

Maybe she could sneak coffee before seeing him.

She stepped into the hallway.

And immediately froze.

Leo was halfway up the stairs carrying two mugs.

He stopped just as abruptly.

For one horrible second they just stared at each other.

Leo was in dark sweats instead of his usual gear. His bandages wrapped around his ribs and his blue mask ends hung around his neck. He looked softer like this. Less leader. More relaxed.

Which somehow made this worse.

“Hi.” Jules said intelligently.

“Hey,” Leo echoed at the exact same time.

Great.

Neither moved.

Then Leo awkwardly lifted one mug slightly. “Uh… coffee.”

“Right. Cool. Good. Coffee exists."

Why was she talking like this?

"Thank you." Sge says while taking the warm mug from him.

Leo cleared his throat. “How’d you sleep?”

“Bad.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Bad because of—”

“No!” Jules blurted too fast. “I mean—not because of you. Not that you would assume that. Obviously. Because why would you?”

Leo stared at her.

Jules wanted the sewer to open beneath her.

“I slept fine,” she finished weakly.

“…Right.”

Another painful silence.

Leo stepped aside to let her pass in the narrow hallway at the exact same moment Jules tried to move around him.

They stopped.

Shifted the opposite direction.

Stopped again.

“Oh my god,” Jules muttered.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

“No, I—”

They both moved again and nearly bumped into each other.

Then Leo gently grabbed her shoulders and turned tbem around so they both stood opposite their original spots.

"There." Leo said.

"Wow." A voice said from the side. "That's was hard to watch."

Raph was standing there staring at them with Mikey just behind him.

Jules shut her eyes.

Leo looked like he wanted to throw himself into traffic.

Raph snorted while he and Mikey made their way down the stairs. “Told you they fought.”

“We did not fight,” Leo called down immediately.

“Sure, fearless.”

“Thanks for the coffee.” she mumbled.

When she reached the kitchen, Donnie glanced up from his tablet.

Then his eyes flicked between her and Leo descending the stairs several feet behind her.

“…Yikes,” he said.

Mikey looked delighted. “Sooooo, what happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Jules and Leo said in perfect unison.

That only made Mikey grin wider.

“Uh huh.”

---

Over the next few hours Leo somehow became unavoidable.

She saw him everywhere.

In the medbay helping Donnie reorganize supplies.

Near the training area talking with Splinter.

At the table reviewing case files.

Every single time he looked at her, her stomach flipped violently.

And every single time she immediately looked away before she could embarrass herself further.

At one point she nearly walked directly back upstairs after making eye contact with him for half a second.

“It’s only because he cares.”

Juliet jumped slightly.

Mikey sat beside her on the couch holding a bowl of cereal.

“What?”

“Leo,” Mikey clarified. “He gets all intense and bossy when he cares.”

Juliet blinked at him.

“He was pretty harsh last night,” Mikey continued. “But he was terrified when you disappeared. I know he can come across... rough, but it's just because ge cares about you."

Her chest tightened slightly.

They all thought the awkwardness was from the argument.

Not from the fact she practically melted touching his side.

Good.

They could absolutely pretend that never happened.

Eventually.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

---

Around midmorning April and Casey arrived with updates.

Casey tossed a folder onto the table.

“We narrowed Whitmore down to two possible locations,” he explained. “Chief Vincent is preparing raids for both. Wants to know if you plan on joining.”

“Hell yeah,” Mikey said immediately.

Leo crossed his arms. “I’ll talk to Vincent first. We don’t need to interfere with an active raid.”

“Aww come on,” Mikey complained. “He hurt sugarpie.”

“Shut up, nimrod,” Raph muttered.

Leo glanced quickly toward Juliet before speaking again.

“We don’t overstep."

Casey nodded once. “Once Whitmore is in custody they’re gonna want to talk to you." He said looking at Juliet

Juliet frowned. “Me?”

“Yeah,” Casey said. “You’re the reason this case officially opened.”

“So?” Raph asked immediately.

“She also worked for the guy,” Casey replied. “And she’s tied directly to the evidence.”

Donnie scoffed. “Right. Great plan. Let’s have her explain to the NYPD how she illegally stole classified files from a billion-dollar corporation.”

“That’s not what we’re doing,” Casey argued.

“Then what are we doing?” Jules asked.

Casey leaned back slightly. “I coach you through a version of events the detectives can work with.”

April nodded. “Something believable and legally survivable.”

“We match every claim to evidence actually recovered from Whitmore’s office,” Casey explained. “Anything they can independently verify stays in.”

“And the Foot?” Jules asked quietly.

“We leave that out for now,” Casey said immediately. “Nobody’s putting ninja cults in official reports unless we absolutely have to.”

“That’ll probably come out eventually,” April added.

Casey sighed. “Yeah. But hopefully after Whitmore’s already behind bars.”

---

The next couple hours blurred together.

Casey walked Jules through possible questions detectives might ask.

April helped organize timelines and evidence chains.

They built an entirely new version of events around the investigation.

A cleaner version.

A safer version.

One where Jules was less criminal vigilante and more concerned employee uncovering corruption.

“One step at a time,” Casey said finally. “We nail Whitmore first. Then Helix.”

“And hopefully find Evelyn,” Jules murmured.

Casey nodded.

Then April spoke carefully.

“But the bright side is… once Whitmore’s in custody, you probably won’t need to stay down here anymore.”

Juliet blinked.

“What?”

“Well…” April hesitated. “He was the one giving out your information. Once he’s locked up, you’ll finally be free to get your own place again.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Juliet stared down at the table.

She hadn’t even thought that far ahead.

Which wasn’t like her.

Normally she planned everything.

Every backup.

Every escape route.

But lately—

Lately she kept getting distracted.

By blue eyes.

By rooftop conversations.

By feeling safer in one month than she had in most of her life.

She needed to survive. She'd need a job. A place. Things she hadn't even started preparing for. Her accounts could maybe get her a down payment on an apartment. Probably one smaller than before, but without a job she wpuld just be living in a box.

“You okay?” April asked gently.

Juliet forced herself to nod. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

“We’ll help you figure it out,” April said immediately. “You could stay with me and Casey for a while if you need.”

Right.

Jules nodded politely while already mentally rejecting the idea.

“One step at a time,” Casey reminded her again.

“One step at a time,” she repeated quietly.

---

Later that afternoon Jules found herself standing outside the training room.

The door sat cracked open slightly.

Inside, Splinter stood near the wall with his hands folded behind his back while the turtles trained.

Juliet watched silently and out of sight.

They moved together flawlessly.

Precise.

Controlled.

Powerful.

She had seen them fight before, but that was always chaos. Adrenaline. Fear.

This was different.

This was art.

Raph moved with brutal force.

Mikey spun with almost playful unpredictability.

Donnie was sharp and calculated.

And Leo—

Juliet’s eyes lingered on him.

He moved like leadership itself.

Every motion confident.

Balanced.

Certain.

His swords looked less like weapons and more like extensions of his body.

He didn’t favor one side over the other. Both hands moved with equal precision.

Jules found herself watching the flex of muscle in his arms when he swung.

The broad shape of his shoulders.

The way he stood taller than the others somehow without trying.

God.

He was so—

No.

Nope.

Absolutely not.

He was a mutant turtle.

A mutant turtle who apparently made her nervous every time he looked at her now.

Juliet quickly turned away from the doorway before she embarrassed herself further.

This had to be some sort of savior complex.

That was the only explanation.

Leo rescued her.

Leo protected her.

Leo listened to her.

Obviously her brain was confusing gratitude with attraction.

Because otherwise she’d have to admit she found:

the giant mutant turtle attractive

his voice attractive

his stupid leadership attractive

Which was insane.

Also Leo clearly didn’t think about her that way.

Every close moment they had, he always stepped back eventually.

When he carried her he always put her down quickly.

And last night—

Oh god.

He probably hated being touched and was simply too polite to say anything.

Juliet buried her face in her hands.

Fantastic.

Now she had violated the personal boundaries of the only emotionally healthy man she had ever met.

Perfect.

New plan: Give Leonardo space. Act normal. Never touch him unexpectedly again.

Easy.

Totally doable.

---

By dinner Mikey had taken over the kitchen completely.

Something smelled incredible.

“Food’s up!” he yelled proudly.

Everyone gradually gathered around the table.

Juliet purposely chose a seat with plenty of space around it.

Smart.

Safe.

Then only seconds later Leo sat directly beside her.

Her entire body became hyperaware instantly.

Close.

Too close.

She could feel the warmth coming off him.

Juliet stared very hard at the table.

This was going to be much harder than she thought.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Chapter 16 - Leo

“Stand by,” a voice chimed through the static of the radio.

Leo and his brothers stood crouched on the edge of a rooftop two blocks from the warehouse Whitmore was holed up in. The cold wind whipped around them, carrying the smell of snow and the distant sounds of New York traffic far below.

The police had confirmed Richard Whitmore was inside.

Leo had made the call for them to stay back unless things went wrong.

It was the sign of a good leader to know when his team was needed… and when they weren’t.

At least that’s what Master Splinter had taught him.

“We should be down there,” Raph muttered, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“Yeah,” Mikey added. “We should be kicking butt.”

Leo resisted the urge to sigh.

“It’s one guy,” he reminded them.

“A bad one,” Mikey shot back immediately. “How could he sell out sugarpie like that?”

Leo’s jaw tightened.

Raph glanced sideways at him. “Kinda thought you’d wanna be first through the door.”

The problem was… Leo did.

He wanted to slam Whitmore into a wall hard enough that every terrible decision he’d ever made rattled around in his skull for the rest of his miserable life.

But that wasn’t justice.

That was anger.

And Leo couldn’t afford to lead angry.

“Perimeter clear. Two minutes out,” Casey’s voice crackled through the comms.

Another reason Leo stayed back was because Casey was down there.

And Leo trusted Casey.

Donnie unfolded a small portable monitor from his gear bag, several live feeds flickering across the screen from SWAT body cams.

“Looks clear so far,” Donnie murmured.

“Ten… nine… eight…”

The countdown echoed through the radios.

Leo leaned forward slightly.

Despite wanting Whitmore behind bars more than anything, this wasn’t really about revenge.

This was about Jules.

About keeping her safe.

About stopping Helix.

If Whitmore got arrested, maybe the DA could squeeze him for names. Connections. Locations. Maybe they could finally start finding the missing people.

Maybe they could find Evelyn.

Maybe they could stop whatever this whole thing really was.

Leo’s chest tightened when he thought about Jules trying to handle all of this alone before she met them.

Before she met him.

How long had she been carrying this fear by herself?

“Three… two… one— breach!”

Flash bombs detonated inside the warehouse.

The feeds exploded into chaos as officers stormed through shattered doors and busted windows.

“Clear left!”

“Move move move!”

“Second floor secure!”

Leo watched Casey’s body cam carefully as officers swept through room after room.

And the deeper they got into the building…

…the worse the feeling in Leo’s stomach became.

Subconsciously, he adjusted the straps on his swords.

The warehouse didn’t look abandoned at all.

Tables lined the walls covered in medical equipment. File boxes. Computers. Chemical containers.

A makeshift lab.

“Clear!”

Casey moved into another hallway.

Suddenly there was a blur of movement.

“Suspect moving!” Casey shouted.

Whitmore sprinted down the corridor.

Casey tackled him hard to the ground before Whitmore could reach a side exit.

“Got you now you little—”

Whitmore reached into his pocket.

“Casey!” Leo barked.

Too late.

Whitmore slammed his thumb onto a small remote.

A deep metallic groan echoed through the warehouse.

Not just through the speakers.

Leo heard it from the rooftop.

“What the hell is that!?” an officer shouted.

“MOVE!” another screamed.

A massive steel door began lifting somewhere deeper in the building.

Casey got distracted for half a second.

Whitmore shoved him off and scrambled away.

Then Leo heard it.

A roar.

Low.

Animalistic.

Wrong.

The giant tiger emerged from the darkness.

Its black eyes reflected the flashing red emergency lights.

“Go!” Leo shouted.

The turtles launched from the rooftop instantly.

Glass shattered beneath their feet as they crashed into the warehouse.

Gunfire erupted immediately.

“Open fire!”

The tiger barely reacted.

If the bullets hurt it, it didn’t seem to care.

“Casey!” Leo shouted into the comms. “Pull your men back!”

“Retreat!” Casey yelled. “Fall back now!”

The officers scrambled for exits as the turtles entered the fight.

This time was different than Whitmore Legal Aid.

No civilians.

No Jules nearby.

Leo could focus entirely on the threat.

Raph slammed into the tiger’s side with a roar while Mikey vaulted over stacked crates, swinging his nunchucks toward its face.

The tiger snapped at him viciously.

“Okay! Still hate cats!” Mikey yelled.

Donnie launched electrified discs toward its legs while Leo darted forward, slicing low to keep its attention split.

The thing was fast.

Far too fast for its size.

“Where’s Whitmore?” Leo demanded.

Donnie tapped rapidly at his wrist monitor while dodging a swipe.

“Heading east on foot!”

“Raph, Mikey— herd it back toward the cage! Donnie, figure out how to shut it!”

“On it!”

The brothers moved instantly.

Years of fighting together made the coordination almost effortless.

Raph forced the tiger backward while Mikey baited it from the side.

Leo sliced a pipe overhead, sending steam bursting into the creature’s face.

Disoriented, it retreated backward—

Straight toward the containment cage.

“NOW!” Donnie shouted.

The heavy doors slammed shut around it.

The tiger roared violently, throwing itself against the steel.

“GO GET HIM!” Raph barked.

Leo hesitated for half a second.

Leaving his brothers behind never sat right with him.

But if Whitmore escaped…

Jules would never truly be safe.

None of this would end.

Leo turned and sprinted from the warehouse.

“Left alley!” Donnie directed through the comms.

Leo vaulted over dumpsters and fire escapes until he spotted Whitmore running through a narrow alleyway.

Leo dropped directly in front of him.

Whitmore jerked backward so hard he fell onto the pavement.

He scrambled to his feet and tried to run the opposite direction.

Leo grabbed the back of his coat and slammed him against the brick wall.

Hard.

Whitmore grunted.

Leo pinned him there easily.

As Leo reached for his communicator, Whitmore laughed softly.

Even his voice irritated him.

“Ah,” Whitmore breathed. “The creature she befriended.”

Leo ignored him.

He’d dealt with disgust his entire life.

“Shocking, really,” Whitmore continued. “A girl like Juliet wasting her time on something like you.”

Leo’s grip tightened.

Whitmore coughed.

“No wonder they wanted you found.”

Leo frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

Whitmore looked at him carefully.

“You really don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“You’re a very desirable specimen.”

Leo was rapidly losing patience.

“Do you know how much they offered me if I brought all four of you in?” Whitmore asked quietly. “Before that stubborn little girl complicated everything.”

“You sell people out for money?”

Whitmore laughed once.

“I do what I have to do to survive.”

“And betrayed the only person who ever respected you in the process.”

Something flickered across Whitmore’s face.

Guilt maybe.

But it vanished quickly.

“I never wanted her involved.”

Leo scoffed.

“That’s funny coming from the guy who handed her to the Foot.”

Whitmore looked almost annoyed now.

“It wouldn’t have mattered.”

Leo stilled.

“What?”

“She was marked long before Helix.”

Leo felt cold all over.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Whitmore smiled faintly.

“Why do you think I offered to help her all those years ago?”

Leo’s stomach dropped.

“A struggling lawyer taking on some angry foster kid out of kindness?” Whitmore mocked. “Please. They paid me to keep an eye on her. To stay close.”

Leo stared at him.

No.

“No,” Leo said quietly.

Whitmore shrugged.

“You’re lying.”

“She was always going to end up in their hands eventually,” Whitmore continued. “She just sped things up by sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.”

Leo slammed him harder into the wall.

Whitmore winced.

“You better start making sense or-”

“Or what?” Whitmore sneered. “You need me alive.”

Honestly?

Leo considered otherwise for a second.

Just one second.

Then Whitmore smirked.

“But I’ll tell you this,” he said quietly.

Leo hated the way his stomach twisted before he even spoke.

“She was next.”

Static crackled through the comms.

“Leo!” Casey shouted. “Tiger got out!”

“What?! Are-”

“We’re okay,” Raph cut in quickly. “Thing busted through the cage like paper.”

“Please tell me you got jerkface!” Mikey added.

Leo stared at Whitmore.

Whitmore stared right back.

Calm.

Smug.

Like he knew he still had power.

Leo hated him.

“I have him,” Leo said finally.

“Bring him in,” Casey ordered.

Leo bound Whitmore’s wrists tightly and marched him back toward the warehouse.

Police swarmed the area now.

Casey stepped forward and took custody immediately.

As Whitmore was shoved toward the transport truck, he glanced back toward Leo one last time.

“Tell Juliet I said goodbye,” Whitmore said smoothly. “Though honestly… I don’t think she has much time left to appreciate it.”

Leo felt something cold settle deep in his chest.

Fear.

Real fear.

He had more questions than answers at this point but he was sure of one thing.

He was going to do everything in his power to keep Juliet safe.

Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Notes:

Sorry for the slight delay. This chapter is a little longer.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 - Jules

Jules sat in the cold room in silence, impatiently tapping her fingers against the edge of the metal table.

April and Casey had walked her into the courthouse this morning. April wasn’t allowed to stay beyond security and Casey had already been called back to work, but both of them had assured her the man she was about to meet was one of the best attorneys in New York.

Still… this was the first time she had been truly alone in months.

It felt strange.

The turtles had returned from the hunt for Whitmore and Mikey had practically exploded with excitement when they told her they caught him. Even Raph had looked satisfied hearing Whitmore was finally in custody.

The tiger had escaped though.

Maybe that was why Leo had seemed off afterward.

Not cold exactly. Just quieter. More distant. Short answers. Tense shoulders.

Jules figured he was blaming himself for letting the creature get away. That seemed very Leonardo.

So she tried to give him space.

…For multiple reasons.

Whitmore was currently in custody and awaiting trial. The district attorney’s office wanted to move quickly before Helix Dynamics could bury the story.

Ultimately though, this wasn’t about Whitmore.

It was about the missing people.

Thirteen names connected to Helix.

Thirteen people who had signed “consent forms” agreeing to experimental trials.

Forms Jules now knew were forged.

If they could prove corruption and coercion, the police could officially open investigations into the disappearances.

And maybe—

Maybe they could find Evelyn.

The door opened.

Jules straightened slightly as a man in a dark suit stepped inside carrying several files.

He had neatly combed dark hair, a clean shave, and sharp eyes softened by a surprisingly warm expression.

“Miss Montgomery,” he said. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Harrison Clarke.”

He sat beside her at the large table instead of across from her.

“April and Casey filled me in on the broad details,” he continued. “I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through. No one should have someone they admire betray them like that.”

He sounded genuine.

Which somehow made Jules more hesitant.

“If you’re up for it,” Clarke said carefully, “I’d like to hear everything you can tell me.”

Jules caught the wording immediately.

Everything you can tell me.

Meaning he understood there were parts she couldn’t explain.

Her mind flashed briefly to Leo.

To rooftop jumps.
Hidden lairs.
Blue masks.

Did Clarke know about the turtles?

Casey and April trusted him. That was enough for now.

“Where do you want me to start?” Jules asked.

“Let’s start with when you were hired.”

So she told him.

Not the whole truth.

The version they had carefully pieced together over days of planning.

Enough to arrest Whitmore.

Enough to implicate Helix.

Not enough to expose the turtles.

Clarke listened intently the entire time. Occasionally he interrupted with clarifying questions, but mostly he simply let her speak.

Leo listened like that too.

But it felt different with him.

With Leo, it always felt like he was trying to understand her instead of just the information she was giving him.

The realization made her chest feel strange.

By the time she finished, the courthouse windows had darkened with evening.

Clarke closed the folder in front of him.

“Would you be willing to testify?”

“Yes,” Jules answered immediately.

“You should know Whitmore will likely represent himself.”

Jules frowned slightly.

“He’ll be questioning you directly.”

She thought about the stolen documents.

About Donnie’s hacked USB.

About the turtles.

Whitmore knew she had stolen information, but he couldn’t exactly stand in court and claim mutant ninja turtles helped her commit espionage.

“If it helps win the case,” she said steadily, “I’ll do it.”

Clarke studied her for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Come back tomorrow morning and we’ll start preparing.”

—

When Clarke walked her outside afterward, the winter air hit her face sharply.

“Have a good evening, Miss Montgomery,” he said as they shook hands.

“You too.”

Jules pulled out her phone to call April like they planned.

Before she could dial, it buzzed in her hand.

🐢⚔️💙

Jules immediately smiled.

“Hello?”

“How did it go?” Leo asked.

“It was fine. How did you know I was done?”

Silence.

“…I was just checking.”

Jules narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Where are you?”

Another pause.

“…North building.”

Jules looked up toward the rooftops surrounding the courthouse. She didn't see anything.

Of course.

“Wait for me. I’ll come up.”

“What? No, Juliet, you don’t have to—”

“Wait for me.”

She hung up before he could argue.

A few minutes later Jules found herself climbing a fire escape after awkwardly scaling a dumpster to reach the ladder.

By the time she reached the roof edge, Leo was already there.

He grabbed her forearm carefully and helped guide her onto the rooftop.

“You didn’t have to come up here,” he said.

“I can leave.”

“No—that’s not what I—” Leo stopped at her smile. “You do that on purpose.”

“Maybe.”

The wind shifted softly around them.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long.”

Jules was almost positive that was a lie.

“How did it go?” Leo asked.

“He wants me to testify.”

Leo’s expression tightened slightly.

“Is that what you want?”

“I want Richard to pay for what he did.”

“We can still put him away without you going through that.”

“I said it’s fine, Leo.”

The sharpness in her voice surprised both of them.

“…Okay,” he said quietly.

Jules immediately exhaled.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay.”

She rubbed her hands together against the cold.

“It’s just… a lot.”

“Juliet.”

She looked up.

The softness on his face nearly undid her.

“It’s okay,” he repeated gently.

Jules looked away first.

“Does Clarke know you?”

Leo blinked. “Who?”

“Harrison Clarke.”

“No. We’ve never met.”

“Does he know about… you?”

“No.” Leo tilted his head slightly. “Did you tell him?”

“No! Of course not.”

Leo smiled slightly, like he had already known the answer.

“I guess I just wondered because April and Casey trust him so much.”

“He worked with April during the Sacks case,” Leo explained. “I think Casey’s crossed paths with him through other investigations.”

Jules nodded slowly.

“They trust him.”

“Do you?”

Jules stared out toward the city lights.

“I don’t know if I trust anyone right now…”

Then quieter:

“…Except you.”

Leo went completely still.

Jules immediately regretted speaking.

“Sorry—that came out wrong.”

But it hadn’t.

That was the problem.

“I just mean…” she tried again, “putting your life in someone else’s hands is terrifying when you barely know them.”

Leo didn't press. He never did.

Another silence settled between them.

The comfortable kind.

Finally Jules asked, “Who put your contact into my phone?”

Leo frowned slightly. “Probably Donnie when he upgraded it. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“…Juliet.”

“What?”

“What does it say?”

“Nothing.”

“Juliet.”

“I’m not telling you.”

Leo stepped closer.

“Show me.”

“Oh, absolutely not.”

“Juliet.”

She laughed softly despite herself.

“I actually like it. I'm keeping it.”

Leo groaned.

“I’m going to kill Donnie.”

—

The next week blurred together.

Every morning Casey walked Jules into the courthouse.

Every afternoon she sat with Clarke going over testimony, timelines, forged documentation, and witness preparation.

Clarke eventually started asking her opinion on parts of the case strategy itself.

“You catch inconsistencies faster than most junior associates,” he admitted once.

Jules tried not to look too pleased about it.

Every evening she left the courthouse to find a call waiting from Leo.

And every evening he met her somewhere above the city.

Rooftops became routine.

Talking became routine.

Leo became routine.

And somehow that scared her more than any fight ever had.

—

The night before her testimony, snow drifted lazily across the rooftop where they sat.

Leo had somehow gotten hot chocolate from somewhere.

Jules stopped questioning how the turtles acquired things weeks ago.

She held the warm cup between her hands while traffic hummed below.

“I wish you could be there tomorrow,” she admitted quietly.

Leo didn’t answer immediately.

But Jules noticed the way his grip tightened slightly around his cup.

—

The courtroom was almost empty.

A few court clerks. The judge. Clarke beside her. Casey near the back wall with his arms crossed. April sitting quietly behind the prosecution table.

And Richard Whitmore.

Jules kept her eyes away from him during direct examination.

Clarke guided her carefully through the timeline. Her employment. Evelyn Vale. The forged consent documents. The files tied to Helix. The confrontation at Whitmore Legal Aid.

Steady. Precise. Controlled.

By the end of questioning Jules almost forgot her hands were shaking beneath the stand.

“Defense may cross examine.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

Richard stood slowly from his seat and adjusted the cuffs of his suit.

He looked tired.

Not remorseful.

Just tired.

He approached the stand with measured steps and offered her a small smile that made her stomach twist.

“Miss Montgomery.”

Jules stayed quiet.

“You always were ambitious,” Richard continued. “Driven. Sometimes emotional, but driven.”

“What’s your question?” Jules asked evenly.

Richard smiled faintly like he expected that response.

“Would you say you became personally invested in the Helix investigation?”

“Yes.”

“So personally invested that you became unable to remain objective?”

“I don’t believe trying to find thirteen missing people makes someone irrational.”

“You became attached to this Evelyn Vale.”

“She’s a missing person.”

“A girl you barely knew.”

Jules finally looked directly at him.

“She mattered anyway.”

Something in the room shifted at that.

Even Clarke glanced toward her.

Richard’s expression hardened slightly.

“And yet despite your concern for others, you still involved dangerous individuals in this matter.”

Clarke immediately stood. “Objection.”

Richard lifted a hand casually. “Withdrawn.”

But Jules caught it.

Dangerous individuals.

Leo.
The turtles.

Her chest tightened.

Richard stepped closer to the stand.

“Miss Montgomery, isn’t it true you’ve always had difficulty distinguishing loyalty from dependency?”

Clarke stood again. “Objection. Relevance.”

“Sustained.”

Richard sighed dramatically before trying again.

“You trusted me for years, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And despite all these accusations, despite everything you claim happened, you still came to me alone the night of your confrontation.”

Jules swallowed.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The courtroom went quiet.

Richard looked almost triumphant asking it.

Like he already knew the answer.

Because she wanted him to still be good.

Because she wanted one person in her life not to betray her.

Because losing him felt like losing the last stable thing from her childhood.

Jules looked him dead in the eyes.

“Because I thought if I heard it from you directly,” she said calmly, “maybe I could still pretend you were the person I spent years admiring.”

Richard’s confidence faltered for the first time.

“But you weren’t,” Jules continued. “You were just another man willing to sacrifice vulnerable people to protect himself.”

Silence.

Even the court clerk stopped typing for half a second.

Richard recovered slowly.

“Miss Montgomery,” he continued, “isn’t it true you have a history of unlawful behavior dating back to your adolescence?”

Jules froze slightly.

Group homes.
Shoplifting.
Fights.

Clarke stood immediately.

“Objection. Relevance.”

“Establishing witness credibility,” Whitmore argued.

“You’re attempting to prejudice the witness using sealed juvenile records.”

“Sustained,” the judge said sharply. “Strike it from the record. Move on, Mr. Whitmore.”

Whitmore inhaled slowly before continuing.

“You claim these signatures were forged,” he said. “But you are not a handwriting analyst, correct?”

“No.”

“And you were not personally present when these documents were signed?”

“No.”

“So your accusation is based entirely on assumption.”

Jules tilted her head slightly.

“No,” she said calmly. “It’s based on pattern recognition.”

Whitmore frowned.

“You forged legal consent forms for vulnerable individuals with no family representation, no financial stability, and nobody likely to report them missing.” Jules leaned forward slightly. “Multiple documents were processed through your office using identical authorization structures within hours of each other.”

Silence filled the courtroom.

“Which means,” Jules continued evenly, “either you committed fraud… or you’re somehow the worst attorney in New York.”

“No further questions, your honor.”

As Jules stepped down from the stand, Clarke gave her a small approving smile.

“If I were you, Mr. Whitmore,” the judge remarked dryly, “I’d begin considering plea negotiations.”

—

By the time April and Casey walked Jules back to the lair, exhaustion sat heavy in her bones.

The courtroom still echoed in her head.

Richard’s voice.

The judge.

The feeling of every answer balancing on the edge of something sharp.

The hidden door slid open and noise immediately exploded through the lair.

“THE COURT QUEEN RETURNS!” Mikey shouted dramatically.

Music blasted from a speaker loud enough to shake the pipes overhead while Mikey dramatically slid across the floor in socks throwing handfuls of confetti he absolutely should not have had access to.

“Tell me why he had emergency celebration confetti ready to go,” Raph muttered from the kitchen island.

“Statistically speaking,” Donnie added while adjusting something on his tablet, “celebratory environments can reduce post-stress cortisol levels.”

“You made that up,” Casey said.

“Maybe.”

Jules blinked at all of them.

“…What is happening?”

“You destroyed him!” Mikey pointed at her accusingly like she had committed a crime. “Sugarpie, that was ICE COLD.”

“I told him the confetti was stupid,” Raph said.

“And yet,” Mikey gestured around proudly, “the people love it.”

Jules laughed despite herself, finally shrugging her coat off.

“What?” she asked slowly. “How do you know how it went already?”

Donnie finally glanced up from his screen and pointed casually toward Leo.

“He had me tap into courthouse surveillance.”

Jules’ eyes snapped to Leo.

Her heartbeat stumbled.

Mikey suddenly clapped his hands loudly.

“Pizza’s here, let's celebrate!”

“You are literally covered in confetti.” Raph said.

“That’s called joy.”

The brothers started migrating toward the kitchen while arguing loudly over toppings.

Donnie passed Jules on the way by.

“You really did do well,” he said sincerely before following the others.

Raph gave her a small nod.

Then they were gone.

Just like that the lair became quieter.

Jules looked back toward Leo.

Mikey started loudly arguing over pizza toppings with Raph.

Leo stepped closer.

“You ok?” he asked quietly.

Not “How’d it go?”

Not “Did you win?”

Just—

You ok?

Jules nodded softly.

“I think so.”

He looked relieved.

Actually relieved.

And for some reason that affected her more than the entire celebration did.

Still watching her carefully like he was trying to gauge how she really felt after today.

“You hacked courthouse cameras?” she asked softly once they were alone.

Leo looked mildly guilty.

“…Technically Donnie hacked the cameras.”

Jules smiled tiredly.

“That’s your defense?”

“It sounded better in my head.”

She laughed quietly and Leo visibly relaxed at the sound.

The silence that settled after wasn’t awkward anymore.

Just close.

“You saw the whole thing?”

Leo looked suddenly awkward under the attention.

“You said…” He rubbed the back of his neck once. “You said you wished I could be there.”

Something warm hit Jules so hard it almost hurt.

“So,” Leo continued quieter, “I tried.”

Something warm spread painfully through her chest.

Not because he watched.

Because he listened.

And because somehow—

impossibly—

he always showed up.

Then a loud crash echoed from the kitchen.

‘THAT WASN’T MY FAULT!’ Mikey shouted immediately.

‘IT WAS LITERALLY YOUR FAULT,’ Raph yelled back.”

Leo closed his eyes.

Jules laughed so hard she had to cover her face.

And somehow—

for the first time since stepping into that courtroom—

she finally felt like she could breathe again.

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Chapter 18 - Leo

Leo sat at the kitchen table with his brothers and Juliet while scattered files, coffee cups, and takeout boxes covered nearly every inch of the surface.

The lair had slowly become command central over the last few weeks.

Case files.

Maps.

Missing persons reports.

Timelines.

Photographs.

Helix Dynamics had crawled into every corner of their lives.

“So then she solos this entire horde of Rotfangs with nothing but dual blades and one health potion,” Mikey said dramatically, waving a slice of pizza around like he was reenacting a war story.

Juliet blinked at him. “By herself?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Mikey pointed aggressively. “Absolute legend behavior.”

“High praise,” Jules replied dryly.

“That’s because he’s in love with her,” Raph said without looking up from the file in his hands.

“Would that really be so wrong?” Mikey gasped theatrically.

“Yes,” Donnie interrupted immediately.

Mikey ignored him. “Listen, ShadowHexQueen and I are spiritually connected.”

Leo huffed a small laugh despite himself.

The easy atmosphere almost felt normal.

Almost.

Leo still noticed the exhaustion under Jules’ eyes.

Still noticed how her fingers tapped restlessly against her coffee cup whenever the case got brought up.

Still noticed everything.

Casey entered the lair carrying a folder under one arm.

“Hey,” Mikey greeted. “Perfect timing. We’re planning our heroic corruption takedown montage.”

“Can Whitmore’s testimony help us track the transfer locations?” Jules asked, leaning forward.

“Or maybe we finally get to punch the rich evil people,” Mikey added hopefully.

Raph high-fived him.

Leo studied Casey carefully.

Something was wrong.

Casey’s shoulders were tight.

His jaw set.

That look.

The one he got after bad calls.

Bad scenes.

Bad deaths.

Leo slowly straightened.

“Did they finish the plea agreement?” he asked quietly.

Casey hesitated.

“No.”

Silence settled instantly.

Casey exhaled once.

“Whitmore’s dead.”

The room exploded.

“What do you mean dead?”

“Dead dead?!”

“How does someone die in custody?!”

“You’re kidding.”

Leo barely heard any of it.

His eyes went directly to Juliet.

She hadn’t moved.

She sat completely still at the table staring at nothing.

No expression.

No reaction.

Which somehow scared him more.

Casey raised both hands trying to quiet everyone.

“He died during transport to the DA’s office. Preliminary thought is poisoning, but the coroner’s still working the autopsy.”

“So somebody silenced him,” Donnie said immediately.

“Looks that way.”

“Did he say anything before he died?” Leo asked.

Still watching Jules.

Casey shook his head.

“No chance. We never got to question him.”

“So we lost our only inside source,” Raph muttered.

“Fantastic,” Donnie deadpanned.

“What about his cell?” Jules asked suddenly.

Her voice sounded calm.

Too calm.

“Did they search his belongings? Anything hidden?”

Casey nodded. “Officers are already going through everything.”

“We need copies of whatever they find,” Jules said immediately.

“We’ll get them.”

Casey checked his phone. “I gotta get back. This turned into a homicide investigation real fast.”

Leo nodded once. “Keep us updated.”

Casey started toward the exit. While his brothers exploded in conversation.

As he passed Juliet, Leo heard her quietly say—

“Casey.”

Casey stopped.

Jules still didn’t look at him.

“Did he…” Her voice almost failed. “Did he suffer?”

Casey looked at Leo.

And Leo silently begged him—

Please.

“No,” Casey said softly. “He didn’t.”

Jules nodded once.

Casey left.

The others were talking over each other again.

“This whole thing stinks.”

“Obviously somebody wanted him quiet.”

“At least the creep’s dead,” Raph muttered.

Leo saw it.

The tiny flinch.

Small enough nobody else caught it.

But Leo did.

Jules stood and mumbled a quick exuse.

Then she walked out of the room.

Nobody noticed except him.

And suddenly Leo couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Raph,” Leo said immediately, standing. “Go grab the crates recovered from the warehouse.”

Raph blinked. “Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Donnie, access the coroner’s report the second it’s uploaded. See if you can pull traffic cams from the transport route.”

Donnie nodded immediately.

“Mikey, check with April. See if media’s hearing anything yet.”

His brothers exchanged looks.

Leo ignored them.

“We regroup in an hour.”

Then he turned and headed upstairs.

He stopped outside his bedroom door.

Softly knocked.

“Juliet?”

A rustling sound answered him.

Leo slowly opened the door.

Jules sat at his desk surrounded by files.

One of his hoodies hung loosely over her shoulders.

She looked up too quickly.

“Hey,” she said softly. “I was just going over everything again. Seeing if maybe we missed—”

Her hands were shaking.

Leo quietly closed the door behind him.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes I do.”

“No.”

She kept staring at the papers.

“If Whitmore’s dead then whoever poisoned him is probably connected directly to Helix and if we can figure out—”

“Juliet.”

Her voice stumbled to a stop.

Leo crossed the room slowly.

“You don’t have to pretend.”

That finally made her look at him.

Leo’s chest tightened instantly.

Her eyes looked glassy.

Broken.

Like she was holding herself together by threads.

He crouched down in front of her chair.

Gently turned it so she couldn’t avoid him anymore.

“You don’t have to be ok in front of me,” he said softly.

That did it.

Her face crumpled instantly.

One sharp breath left her.

Then another.

“I—” Her voice broke violently. “I don't... I can’t—”

She covered her mouth with her hand like she was trying to physically hold the sound in.

But the tears came anyway.

Fast.

Uncontrollable.

Leo reached toward her instinctively—

And Jules suddenly folded forward into him.

His arms wrapped around her automatically.

Holding her against his chest while her body shook with silent sobs.

Leo’s heart physically hurt.

He’d seen people cry before.

Seen grief.

Fear.

Pain.

But this—

This was hurting him.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered immediately.

One hand moved into her hair.

Holding her closer. "I'm here."

Her crying only got worse.

Leo carefully shifted them toward the bed so she wouldn’t stay twisted awkwardly in the chair.

Jules curled against him like she was trying to disappear.

“He was awful,” she whispered through broken breaths. “I know he was awful.”

Leo swallowed hard.

Because Whitmore was awful.

But he had also been the closest thing Jules ever had to stability.

To safety.

And Leo suddenly understood that grief didn’t care whether someone deserved mourning.

“Shhh,” he whispered softly. “I know.”

Another sob wrecked through her.

Leo tightened his arms around her instinctively.

He kept stroking her hair slowly while she cried against him.

And at some point, without thinking—

He lowered his head.

Pressed his lips on the top of her hair.

Protective.

Tender.

Instinctive.

Eventually the sobbing softened into exhausted sniffles.

Then silence.

Leo looked down.

Jules had fallen asleep against him.

Her breathing finally steady.

He should move.

Should leave.

Should give her space.

Instead he stayed exactly where he was.

Holding her.

Listening to her breathe.

Thinking about everything she’d survived.

Everything she still carried alone.

And somewhere in the middle of those thoughts—

Leo fell asleep too.

—
A soft click pulled Leo out of sleep.

For a second he didn’t know where he was.

Then warmth registered against his chest.

Weight against his arm.

The faint smell of Juliet’s shampoo.

Leo’s eyes opened slowly.

Dim light from the hallway stretched across his room in soft gold lines, and for one disorienting second he just stared downward trying to process what he was seeing.

Juliet.

Curled against him.

One of her hands lightly fisted in the fabric near his shoulder like sometime in her sleep she had needed to make sure he was still there.

Leo’s breath caught.

His arm was still wrapped around her waist beneath the blanket. His other hand rested near her shoulder where at some point he must have fallen asleep stroking her hair.

He had slept holding her.

Actually slept.

The realization hit him all at once.

And somehow that felt far more intimate than it should have.

His chest tightened painfully.

Because no one had ever trusted him like this before.

Leo stayed perfectly still, almost afraid moving would somehow ruin the moment.

Jules shifted softly against him in her sleep with a tiny exhausted breath, and Leo nearly stopped functioning entirely.

He could still see traces of dried tears on her face even now.

His heart hurt looking at her.

The grief on her face earlier had shattered something inside him. And now seeing her finally peaceful—finally resting after holding herself together for so long—made something fiercely protective settle deep in his chest.

He wanted to keep her safe from everything.

Which was dangerous.

Because Leo was starting to realize this was no longer just concern.

No longer just responsibility.

And that terrified him a little.

Another quiet sound outside the room snapped him from the thought.

Leo looked up just in time to catch the shadow of someone disappearing past the doorway.

One of his brothers.

Fantastic.

Leo closed his eyes briefly.

There would absolutely be comments later.

Still… none of them interrupted.

None of them said anything.

And for some reason that made his chest ache too.

He looked back down at Jules.

At the way she trusted him enough to sleep beside him.

At the way she instinctively stayed close even in sleep.

Leo carefully adjusted the blanket higher over her shoulder.

Then somewhere between listening to her breathing and watching the slow rise and fall of her chest—

He drifted back asleep.

—

When Leo woke again the room was colder.

Empty.

His arm still stretched across the mattress where Juliet had been.

He stared at the space beside him for a long second.

The indent in the blanket still there.

His heart did something stupid.

She had left carefully.

Quietly.

Probably trying not to wake him.

Leo scrubbed a hand down his face and sat up slowly.

Part of him told him to leave her alone.

Give her space.

Let her breathe after everything today.

The other part of him—the louder part—needed to know she was alright.

That part won.

Leo wandered downstairs quietly.

Only the kitchen light glowed softly in the distance.

He found Juliet sitting alone at the table.

A glass of water sat untouched between her hands.

She looked exhausted.

Not just tired.

Worn down.

Her eyes were swollen and pink from crying. Her hair slightly messy from sleep. The oversized hoodie she borrowed from him hung off one shoulder.

She looked heartbreakingly human.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said softly when she noticed him.

Leo leaned lightly against the counter for a second just looking at her.

“You didn’t.”

That wasn’t entirely true.

He would have woken eventually anyway.

Jules nodded faintly and looked back down at the water.

Leo approached slowly.

“You should try sleeping again.”

“I’m fine.”

The answer came too fast.

Automatic.

Leo recognized it immediately because he used it constantly himself.

He stepped beside her and gently took the glass from her hands before setting it aside.

Jules finally looked up at him properly.

And Leo’s chest tightened all over again seeing how tired she looked.

The crying had drained something out of her.

He reached up carefully and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her shoulder.

His fingers lingered for half a second longer than they should have.

“You don’t have to keep pretending you’re ok,” he said quietly.

Something vulnerable flickered across her face.

“I’m not pretending,” she whispered.

Leo gave her a look.

That almost made her smile.

Almost.

“You’re exhausted, Juliet.”

Leo crouched slightly beside her chair so he was closer to eye level.

“You don’t have to carry this by yourself.”

Jules swallowed hard.

“You make it sound easy.”

“It’s not,” Leo admitted softly. “But you don’t have to do it alone.”

Her eyes searched his face quietly.

Leo suddenly became very aware of how close they were.

How soft her expression had gone.

How her eyes kept dropping briefly to his mouth before flicking away again.

His heartbeat started climbing.

“Leo…” she whispered.

He forgot every coherent thought he’d ever had.

His eyes dropped to her lips instinctively.

Jules noticed.

He knew she noticed because her breathing caught softly.

And then—

Her eyes flicked down to his mouth too.

Leo’s pulse hammered painfully in his chest.

He should move.

Should step back.

Should say literally anything useful.

Instead he just stood there frozen while the air between them changed completely.

Then footsteps sounded faintly upstairs.

Both of them startled slightly.

The moment cracked apart instantly.

Jules looked down at her hands.

Leo exhaled slowly trying to regain control of his nervous system.

“You should sleep,” he said again, softer this time.

Jules nodded once.

But neither of them moved.

“Go to bed, Juliet,” Leo murmured.

Her eyes lifted to his again.

And this time there was something warm there.

Something terrifyingly affectionate.

“Ok,” she whispered.

She stood slowly from the chair.

Leo moved aside to let her pass.

But when she reached him—

She paused.

Leo felt her hesitate beside him.

Then she took one tiny breath—

And leaned in.

Her lips pressed softly against his cheek.

Warm.

Gentle.

Brief enough Leo almost thought he imagined it.

“Thank you, Leonardo,” she whispered near his ear.

Then she walked upstairs before he could form a single functioning thought.

Leo stood completely motionless in the kitchen.

Heart pounding violently.

Hand slowly lifting to the spot she kissed.

He stared blankly at the wall for a full ten seconds.

And realized immediately—

He was in so much trouble.

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Chapter Text

Chapter 19 – Jules

Jules woke late the next morning with blurry eyes and a dull headache sitting behind them.

For a few seconds she just stared at the ceiling of Leo’s room, disoriented.

Then everything came rushing back.

Whitmore was dead.

She had cried herself to sleep in Leo’s arms.

And somehow that second realization felt almost more overwhelming than the first.

Jules groaned softly and dragged a hand over her face.

She hadn’t cried like that in…

Maybe ever.

Not really.

She’d never had someone to mourn before.

She’d bounced through foster homes too quickly to get attached. The group home had lasted the longest—almost a year before she emancipated herself with Richard’s help.

Richard.

The ache in her chest returned sharp enough to make her curl slightly inward.

“No more crying,” she muttered to herself. “Especially over a man who doesn’t deserve it.”

She needed to focus.

Focus on the case.

On Evelyn.

On finding the other missing people.

That was what mattered.

Jules slowly pushed herself upright and slipped out of bed. She still wore Leo’s oversized jacket from yesterday. It smelled faintly like cedar and laundry detergent and something distinctly him.

She tried not to think about that too hard.

By the time she wandered downstairs, music was already echoing through the lair.

Mikey danced around the kitchen with a spatula microphone while pancakes cooked on the stove.

“Smells good,” Jules said, voice still rough with sleep.

Mikey spun dramatically toward her.

“Yeah? Specialty breakfast just for you, sugarpie! Chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes.”

Jules blinked.

“Why double chocolate?”

“Double the goodness,” Mikey said matter-of-factly. “Just like you.”

Despite herself, Jules smiled.

Maybe she had been louder than she thought last night.

Maybe they all knew.

Or maybe Mikey was just being Mikey.

Probably both.

Movement near Donnie’s workstation caught her eye.

Leo stepped out from the tech area carrying a tablet, already fully dressed in his gear except for his swords. Probably checking patrol reports. Jules had started noticing little things about his routines without meaning to.

Which was dangerous.

He looked toward her immediately.

“Good morning,” he said.

Jules suddenly remembered: his arms around her, his hand in her hair, waking up against his chest, kissing his cheek—

Heat rushed violently into her face.

“Morning,” she mumbled.

Leo crossed the room quietly and set a mug beside her.

Coffee.

Exactly how she liked it.

Jules stared at it for a second before looking up at him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

Mikey was still singing loudly to the music while flipping pancakes, blissfully unaware.

“I’m better,” Jules said quietly.

Leo studied her face for a moment.

His expression softened slightly when he noticed the swelling around her eyes.

“I’m sorry about…” Jules gestured vaguely. “Last night.”

Leo frowned immediately.

“Don’t apologize.”

“No, it was just…” She grimaced. “Humiliating.”

“It wasn’t.”

Jules looked down at the coffee.

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I know.” Leo leaned lightly against the counter beside her. “I’m still glad I was there.”

Something in her chest twisted painfully.

Before she could answer, Mikey slammed a plate down in front of her.

“ORDER UP!”

There were enough pancakes to feed a small army.

And an alarming amount of whipped cream.

“Mikey—”

“No complaints. Doctor’s orders.”

“You’re not a doctor.”

“I’m a pancake artist.”

Raph and Donnie wandered in shortly after, immediately stealing food off each other’s plates while normal conversation slowly resumed around her.

And Jules was grateful for it.

For the noise. For the routine. For them acting like everything wasn’t shattered.

It helped.

Eventually Donnie wiped syrup off his fingers and looked toward Leo.

“So. Next steps?”

“Raph and I already started organizing the crates from Whitmore’s warehouse,” Donnie continued. “Casey said the coroner report should be done later today.”

“We divide and conquer,” Leo agreed. “Chief Vincent also said we can swap evidence now that this is officially a murder investigation.”

The turtles immediately launched into planning.

Jules stayed mostly quiet.

Her mind still felt heavy and fogged over.

Then her phone buzzed.

H. Clarke

“Excuse me,” she murmured, standing.

She could practically feel Leo watching her as she stepped into the hallway.

“Hello?”

“Miss Montgomery,” Harrison Clarke greeted smoothly. “I assume you heard the news.”

“Yes. Casey told me last night.”

“I’m sorry the case collapsed before sentencing.”

“I don’t think it collapsed,” she admitted. “Not really.”

“Neither do I.”

There was a pause.

Then Clarke continued.

“My office has officially been assigned to work alongside the NYPD on the Helix investigation. Frankly, I don’t think anyone understands this case better than you do. We would love your assistance mobing forward.”

Jules blinked.

“I appreciate that, but most of what I know is already in the files.”

“Miss Montgomery,” Clarke said patiently, “I’m afraid I wasn’t clear.”

Her stomach flipped.

“I’m offering you a job.”

Silence.

“What?”

“You’re a very good lawyer,” Clarke said simply. “You proved that the second you took the stand. And before that? You managed to uncover an operation involving forged consent documents, illegal experimentation, and organized corruption almost entirely by yourself.”

Jules stared blankly at the wall.

“I think you’re going to become an exceptional attorney one day,” he continued. “And I’d like you on my team.”

Jules felt suddenly lightheaded.

“Are… are you serious?”

“Very.”

Her heart started racing.

“Yes,” she blurted immediately. “Yes, absolutely.”

“Excellent,” Clarke said warmly. “Can you start tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Wonderful. I’ll see you then.”

The call ended.

Jules just stood there for a second staring at her phone.

Then she heard footsteps.

Leo appeared in the hallway almost instantly.

“What happened?”

“He offered me a job.”

Leo blinked.

Then his entire face lit up.

“Seriously?”

“Yes!”

“What?” Donnie called from the kitchen.

Jules turned toward them.

“Harrison Clarke just offered me a job!”

Mikey nearly dropped a pancake.

“See!? I told you! Rock star lawyer!”

“Unsurprising,” Donnie added.

Raph pointed at her with a fork.

“Bout time somebody recognized you got brains.”

Jules laughed despite herself.

And through all of it, Leo just stood there smiling at her.

A real smile.

Soft. Proud. Warm enough to make her feel slightly dizzy.

—

The next morning Jules got dressed in one of the only outfits she still considered “office appropriate.”

She’d definitely need more clothes eventually, she'd probably have to ask April.

Especially if Leo continued refusing to let her walk around New York alone.

When she came downstairs, all four turtles were waiting.

Mikey immediately shoved a lunch bag into her hands.

“First day lunch!”

Donnie held up a laptop bag.

“I configured this for you. It’s temporary until I build you something less embarrassing.”

Then Donnie nudged Raph. Raph awkwardly extended a brand-new winter coat.

“Got cold out.”

Jules stared at all of them.

“You guys really didn’t have to do all this.”

“Of course we did,” Mikey said. “You’re family.”

That word hit harder than it should have.

Leo stepped forward.

“Ready?”

Jules nodded.

After saying goodbye to the others, she followed Leo out through the tunnels. Leo handed her another coffee.

Again exactly how she liked it.

“You know,” Jules said suspiciously, “it could be considered creepy how much you know about me now.”

Leo looked unbearably pleased with himself.

“You’re observant when it comes to investigations,” he said. “I’m observant when it comes to coffee orders.”

Jules rolled her eyes.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly as they walked.

“In general or about today?”

“Both.”

“Fine overall,” she admitted. “Nervous about today.”

“You’ll do great.”

“You don’t have to walk me there.”

“I know.”

“It might get old.”

“It won’t.”

And somehow she knew arguing further was pointless.

—

Jules stepped into the offices of Clarke & Anderson and immediately slowed.

The lobby alone felt different from Whitmore Legal Aid.

Bright. Open. Warm lighting instead of buzzing fluorescents. Dark wood floors polished enough to catch reflections. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city and let pale winter sunlight spill through the space. People moved quickly through the halls, but nobody looked tense or miserable.

A receptionist looked up from behind the desk and smiled politely.

“You must be Juliet Montgomery.”

Jules blinked a little. “Hi, yes.”

“Mr. Clarke is expecting you.” The woman stood. “Right this way.”

That alone almost threw Jules off balance.

At Whitmore Legal Aid, she would have been told to wait. Probably forgotten for twenty minutes.

Instead, the receptionist personally walked her down a long hallway lined with glass offices and busy conference rooms.

People looked up when she passed.

Not annoyed.

Curious.

Interested.

It made something uncomfortable twist in Jules’ chest.

The receptionist stopped outside a large office with frosted glass doors.

“Go ahead.”

Jules stepped inside.

Harrison Clarke stood near his desk speaking quietly into his phone. His office overlooked almost half the skyline. Shelves lined with legal books sat against one wall while organized case files covered another.

It somehow looked expensive and lived in at the same time.

Clarke glanced up and immediately ended the call.

“Miss Montgomery.” He crossed the room and offered his hand. “Good morning.”

Jules shook it. “Morning.”

“I’m glad you came.”

Something about the way he said it made her pause.

Not relieved she accepted.

Actually glad.

“Can I get you coffee? Water?”

“I’m good.”

“Tea?”

Jules huffed the smallest laugh. “You’re really trying to make me feel welcome."

Clarke smiled. “Absolutely.”

That startled another laugh out of her before she could stop it.

“Have a seat.”

Jules sat carefully across from his desk while Clarke gathered a few folders.

“I know this probably feels sudden,” he said. “But I want to be transparent about why I offered you this position.”

Jules folded her hands in her lap. “Ok.”

“You’re intelligent. You’re observant. And frankly…” he leaned back slightly, “most first-year associates don’t independently uncover a corruption ring leading to murder and possibly more.”

Jules grimaced a little. “When you say it like that it sounds dramatic.”

“It is dramatic.”

Clarke’s expression gentled slightly.

“You also care about the people involved. That matters more than what most law schools teach.”

Jules looked down for a second at that.

“You already think like a litigator,” he continued. “Half the notes you brought me were organized better than what I get from attorneys with ten years experience.”

God. This was weird.

Talking to a boss without feeling like she was doing something wrong.

Clarke slid a folder toward her.

“Clarke & Anderson runs on a branch advancement system,” he explained. “You’ll start as an associate under my division while we continue assisting the NYPD task force on the Helix investigation.”

Jules opened the folder carefully.

“The salary listed there is your branch compensation. But honestly with your performance, I don't think you'll stay there long.”

Jules’ eyes dropped to the number.

Then widened.

Then widened more.

She genuinely thought she read it wrong.

Her brain immediately started recalculating rent prices.

Groceries.

Utilities.

A savings account.

Savings.

Actual savings.

Clarke noticed her expression immediately and tried not to smile.

“Too low?”

Jules looked up so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

“No!”

Then quieter:

“No. Sorry. I just…” She shook her head once. “That’s more than I expected.”

Clarke’s expression shifted slightly, but he smoothly moved on.

“You’ll also have full case access regarding Helix.”

That snapped her attention back immediately.

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

Jules sat up straighter. “Even the recovered warehouse evidence?”

“Yes.”

“The medical logs?”

“Yes.”

“Witness reports?”

“Yes.”

Jules stared at him.

“You’re serious.”

“I generally try to be.”

For the first time in what felt like weeks…

Maybe months…

Jules felt excitement instead of dread.

Real excitement.

The kind that sat bright and electric in her chest.

He handed her a pen.

“Still interested?”

Jules didn’t even hesitate.

She signed immediately.

Clarke looked down at the paper, then back at her.

“Welcome to Clarke & Anderson, Juliet.”

And for the first time in a very long time—

Jules felt like maybe her life was finally moving forward instead of just surviving.

The rest of the day blurred together.

Jules met the legal team assigned to Helix and quickly realized most of them were deferring to her judgment on the investigation.

It felt…

Strange.

Good strange.

Nobody rolled their eyes when she spoke.

Nobody dismissed her.

Nobody talked over her.

By late afternoon Clarke handed her a file.

“I’d like you coordinating with Casey Jones directly moving forward.”

“Of course.”

“And this may interest you.” He tapped another page. “Dr. Marjorie Bennett. Molecular biologist at Ashford Biomedical Institute. She may be able to help us identify some of the medical equipment recovered from the warehouse."

Jules took the files he handed over.

Clarke gave a vague gesture. “Brilliant. Slightly terrifying. Talks faster than humanly necessary.”

Jules smirked faintly.

“You’ll probably like her.”

“Should I be worried about that?”

“Probably.”

By the time the office finally wrapped for the night, Jules felt almost energized.

“Great first day,” Clarke told her sincerely before she left.
Then he handed her a white envelope. "This is your signing bonus.”

Jules stared at him.

He just smiled knowingly.

—

Outside, the cold air hit her immediately.

Her phone buzzed seconds later.

🐢⚔️💙

Jules smiled automatically.

“Hey.”

“So?” Leo asked immediately.

“Let’s talk in person.” Knowing he would be close by.

A brief pause.

“Take the alley to your left.”

Jules followed the directions, checking behind her once out of habit.

At the end of the alley, Leo emerged from the shadows.

And embarrassingly enough, just seeing him made her entire day feel better.

“So?” he repeated, already smiling.

Jules exploded into excited rambling.

About the office. The people. The respect. The work. The salary.

Leo listened to every word with complete focus.

When she mentioned the pay, though, his expression shifted oddly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You made a face.”

“I did not.”

“You absolutely did.”

Leo hesitated.

Then sighed.

“I was just wondering what Whitmore paid you before.”

Jules shrugged and told him.

Leo’s eyes widened immediately.

“Juliet,” he said flatly. “That’s barely livable.”

“I managed.”

“No.” Leo shook his head. “Donnie and I went through the financial records. Whitmore had enough money to pay you properly.”

Jules went still.

Even before Helix.

Richard could have paid her more.

He just…

didn’t.

He was an awful man... and evidently cheap too.

Leo immediately looked regretful.

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No,” Jules said quietly. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not.”

“I would’ve found out eventually.” She swallowed. “I’d rather hear it from you.”

Leo stepped slightly closer.

“Juliet…”

His voice carried that same careful softness from the night before.

Like he was worried she might break apart again.

Jules reached out before she could overthink it and caught his hand midair.

His words stopped instantly.

“It’s okay,” she repeated gently.

She held his large three-fingered hand between both of hers.

Then absentmindedly, she traced her thumb slowly across the center of his palm.

Leo went completely still.

Jules looked down at their hands.

“Let’s go home,” she murmured.

After a second, Leo nodded quietly.

And neither of them let go right away.

Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Chapter 20 - Jules

Working at Clarke & Anderson was fantastic.

Juliet had loved every moment of it.

The people she worked with were kind. They respected her opinion. They actually listened when she spoke. Instead of feeling like the unwanted foster kid clawing her way into rooms she didn’t belong in, she felt... valued.

Useful.

And for the first time in a very long time, she felt like maybe she was building something real for herself.

It also didn’t hurt that Clarke & Anderson paid very, very well.

When Jules got back from her first day and finally opened the white envelope Harrison Clarke had handed her, she nearly stopped breathing.

Inside was a signing bonus check with at least one too many zeros.

She had stared at it for a full five minutes before April finally grabbed it from her hands.

“Oh my god.”

Then everyone knew.

“SHOPPING SPREE!” Mikey shouted immediately, leaping onto the couch cushions. “You HAVE to let me online shop with you.”

“This is amazing,” April said excitedly. “You can finally start looking for your own place.”

“What?” Leo asked immediately.

April ignored him.

“Actually,” she continued, “a small apartment just opened up in my building. I can put in a good word with the owner if you want it.”

“What?” Leo repeated, this time sounding more alarmed.

“She can’t stay here forever,” April said reasonably. “Whitmore’s dead. There’s no one left leaking her information to the Foot.”

“But it’s still dangerous,” Leo argued. “She’d be on her own.”

April waved him off.

“She’d literally be in my building. Donnie can install all his ridiculous security systems like he did for me.”

“They’re not ridiculous,” Donnie muttered.

“And she needs a real place to live.” April looked toward Jules with a teasing smile. “It’s about time we get you out of the sewers.”

Jules laughed softly.

But Leo didn’t.

And somehow that bothered her more than she expected.

—

April made good on her promise.

Two days later Jules got a call from the apartment manager telling her the place was hers if she wanted it.

When she told the turtles that evening, the reactions were mixed.

Mikey looked horrified.

“You still have to visit,” he said dramatically. “Like every day. Minimum.”

“She’s not gonna have time for that, dingus,” Raph said.

“I’ll need to upgrade the security setup,” Donnie added immediately. “Better surveillance angles. Reinforced locks. Motion sensors maybe.”

“And a snack cabinet,” Mikey added helpfully.

“Why would that be part of security?”

“Emotional security.”

Raph groaned.

Leo said nothing.

That night when Jules met him in the alley after work, she noticed the tension immediately.

“You don’t have to move,” Leo said quietly, still not looking directly at her.

Jules blinked.

“I can’t take over your room forever.”

“You weren’t taking it over.”

“You know what I mean.” She offered him a small smile. “This is good. It helps me get back on my feet.”

“Right.”

His expression stayed carefully blank.

“Are you upset with me?” Jules asked cautiously.

That finally got him to look at her.

“What? No. Of course not.”

“You kind of seem upset.”

“I’m not.”

He absolutely was.

But before Jules could push further, Leo looked away again and changed the subject entirely.

And somehow that felt worse.

—

A few days later, Jules found herself standing inside Ashford Biomedical Institute.

The building looked more like a private hospital than a research center. White walls. Glass panels. Keycard doors every few feet.

Everything smelled faintly like disinfectant and coffee.

Jules approached the front desk.

“Hi, I’m Juliet Montgomery from Clarke & Anderson. I’m here to speak with Dr. Marjorie Bennett.”

The receptionist smiled politely. “She’ll be right out.”

Jules expected someone older.

More serious.

Instead, less than five minutes later, a woman burst through one of the secured doors wearing a lab coat half-buttoned wrong, glasses slightly crooked, and carrying three folders against her chest.

“Oh—hi!”

One folder immediately slipped from her arms and hit the floor.

“Hold on—sorry—”

She crouched too fast, smacked her head against the desk corner, muttered “ow,” then popped back up like nothing happened.

“I’m Margo! Marjorie technically, but literally nobody calls me that because it sounds like I should own seventeen cats and yell at children from a porch.”

Jules blinked once.

Then laughed before she could stop herself.

Margo grinned brightly like that had been the goal.

“You’re Juliet, right? Harry said you were coming.”

“Harry?”

“Harrison Clarke. Sorry.” She adjusted her glasses quickly. “I forget normal people don’t call him Harry.”

Jules smiled faintly.

“You had questions about some equipment?” Margo asked.

“Yes.”

“Great. Walk and talk?”

She was already moving before Jules fully answered.

Jules hurried after her through one of the secured keycard doors.

“Harry said you basically became the unofficial brains behind the Helix case,” Margo continued rapidly.

“I think that’s overselling it.”

“No, uncovering corporate corruption before thirty is impressive. Most people barely understand taxes.”

Jules snorted softly.

Margo stopped abruptly beside a workstation covered in strange equipment.

“Oh wait one second.”

She adjusted a dial, scribbled frantic notes onto a yellow pad, muttered “that’s definitely wrong,” then straightened again.

“Okay. Temporary crisis solved. This way.”

Jules followed her into a cluttered office.

Books stacked everywhere.

Open notebooks.

Sticky notes covering nearly every surface.

Honestly, it reminded Jules a little of Donnie’s workspace.

Just... less organized.

“Sorry about the mess,” Margo said quickly, kicking papers aside so Jules could sit. “My brain moves faster than my cleaning skills can keep up with."

“It’s fine.”

Finally Jules spread out the photos and equipment lists from the Helix warehouse.

“We recovered these during an ongoing investigation,” she explained. “We’re trying to determine what kind of research they may have been conducting.”

Margo’s expression sharpened immediately.

The shift was noticeable.

Still awkward.

Still energetic.

But now intensely focused.

She studied the images carefully.

“Hm. Okay... this one’s a neural imaging processor.” She tapped a photo. “It monitors electrical activity in the brain.”

She pointed to another.

“This setup analyzes cellular response patterns.”

“And this?” Jules asked.

Margo tilted the picture slightly.

“Oh. That’s interesting.”

“Interesting good or interesting bad?”

“Scientist interesting,” Margo replied. “Usually bad.”

Jules wrote that down.

Margo pointed at several pieces grouped together.

“Individually, none of this is alarming. Universities use this equipment all the time.”

“But together?”

Margo frowned thoughtfully.

“It looks like someone was studying how biology and neurological signals interact.”

Jules paused.

“Meaning?”

Margo grabbed a pen and started sketching on a spare paper.

“Okay. Simplified version.” She drew a rough brain. “Your brain functions through electrical signals. Thoughts, emotions, movement, memory—all signals.”

Then she pointed to another diagram.

“And your biology determines how those signals are processed.”

“So they were studying the brain?”

“More than studying.” Margo tapped the paper lightly. “Trying to influence it.”

Jules felt her stomach tighten slightly.

“In what way?”

“Well...” Margo leaned back. “Best case scenario? Research into neurological diseases. Alzheimer’s. Dementia. Degenerative disorders.”

“And worst case?”

Margo hesitated.

“Theoretically? Manipulating behavior.”

Jules went very still.

Margo noticed immediately.

“I’m not saying mind control,” she clarified quickly. “Not realistically with current technology.”

“But?”

“But if someone had enough money and absolutely no ethics?” She gestured toward the files. “You could absolutely research emotional suppression. Aggression enhancement. Fear conditioning. Memory interference.”

Jules immediately thought about the tiger.

The black eyes.

The rage.

Margo kept flipping through photos.

“Honestly, this level of equipment would cost millions.”

“Millions?”

“Oh yeah.” Margo nodded immediately. “Some of this stuff is heavily restricted.”

“Could someone buy it privately?”

Margo shrugged. “Possibly. Difficultly. Whoever funded this had serious money.”

Jules finished writing down her notes.

“You’ve been a huge help.”

“Oh good.” Margo visibly relaxed. “I always worry I sound insane when I explain science.”

“No actually, you made it really easy to understand.”

Margo looked genuinely pleased by that.

She walked Jules back toward the secured exit.

As Margo lifted her badge to scan the door, Jules noticed a strange symbol stickered onto the back of it.

Something familiar.

Jules said. “What’s that?”

Margo brightened instantly.

“Oh! It’s from Galactic Raiders.”

Jules blinked.

“Seriously?”

“You know it?”

“My friend is obsessed with it.”

“Then your friend has incredible taste,” Margo declared confidently. “It’s objectively one of the greatest games ever made.”

Jules smiled slightly.

“I’ll let him know.”

Jules returned to the office and started reviewing her notes.

She had a lot of work to do.

Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Chapter Text

Chapter 21 - Leo

Leonardo wasn’t a stresser.

He just didn’t stress.

He analyzed problems, found solutions, and executed plans to completion. If adjustments needed to be made along the way, so be it.

That was leadership.

So the feeling currently overtaking his body couldn’t possibly be stress.

Shouldn’t be at least.

But if anyone were to look at him right now, they would absolutely say Leonardo was stressed.

Because Jules was moving out.

And Leo was coping perfectly fine.

Mostly.

Sure, maybe the idea of her no longer being within reach at all times made his chest tighten unpleasantly.

Sure, you could argue she already spent most days away from the lair at work.

And sure, Leo would never admit that he had Donnie hack the security feeds from Clarke & Anderson so he could check on her throughout the day.

Not in a stalker way.

In a concerned way.

Important distinction.

And yes, he walked her to work every morning and arrived nearly an hour before she got off just so he could walk her home.

Again.

Concerned.

Totally normal concerned behavior.

The truth was Leo still hadn’t told anyone what Whitmore said before being taken into custody.

About Jules being marked.

About Helix wanting her.

He didn’t want to scare his brothers. He definitely didn’t want to scare Jules.

And part of him hoped Whitmore had just been trying to get into his head.

The man had been manipulative until the very end.

I do what I have to do to survive.

Whitmore’s words still echoed in Leo’s mind.

But it was the last thing he said that kept replaying over and over.

“Tell Juliet I said goodbye. Though honestly… I don’t think she has much time left to appreciate it.”

It was a jab.

A manipulation tactic.

Whitmore saw Leo’s concern and used it against him.

That had to be all it was.

So maybe Leo was a little on edge.

Maybe he woke up in the middle of the night with the terrifying thought of her being taken before he could get to her.

That didn’t mean he was stressing.

Leo was coping.

Coping and supportive.

He sat through hours of Mikey helping Jules pick out furniture online.

He helped Raph carry all her boxes up into the apartment.

He helped assemble every single piece of furniture even when Donnie insisted the instructions were “self explanatory.”

And he definitely did not make Donnie triple check every security system installed in the apartment.

Leo currently stood near the living room window watching Donnie install the final camera overlooking the fire escape while pretending he was not supervising.

“Leo,” Donnie said flatly without even turning around, “if you keep hovering over me I’m deleting your tracking privileges.”

“I don’t have tracking privileges.”

“Uh huh.”

Mikey wandered by carrying approximately sixteen bags of snacks.

“I got sweet snacks, salty snacks, healthy snacks—which nobody’s gonna eat—and emergency emotional support snacks.”

“Why are there emergency snacks?” Raph asked.

“In case somebody cries.”

“No one’s cryin’ over moving apartments.”

“You don’t know that.”

Raph muttered something under his breath and kept unpacking kitchen supplies.

Leo’s attention drifted toward the bedroom.

The door was cracked slightly open and he could see Jules and April unpacking clothes into the dresser.

Leo’s chest tightened unexpectedly.

His mind flashed back to the day Jules got the job offer.

To Raph quietly stepping beside him while Jules talked on the phone in the hallway.

“I don’t normally butt in,” Raph had said quietly enough not to draw attention.

Leo looked at him.

“And I usually wouldn’t with you. ‘Cause you’re the last one anybody’s gotta worry about.”

Leo stayed silent.

“But you’re getting real close to a line we both know you can’t cross.”

Leo remembered looking down at the floor.

“A line she won’t cross either,” Raph continued more gently. “And I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

The words had stayed with him ever since.

Because Raph was right.

Whatever this thing growing between him and Jules was… it wasn’t realistic.

It couldn’t be.

Leo might want more.

But wanting didn’t change reality.

So he tried.

He genuinely tried.

He stopped lingering too close whenever she laughed.

Stopped letting his hand brush hers whenever possible.

Stopped thinking about the way she looked at him in the kitchen that night.

Mostly.

It didn’t help that apparently all physical contact with Juliet Montgomery completely disabled his ability to think.

“Snacks are officially stocked!” Mikey announced proudly.

“Thank you,” Jules laughed as she and April emerged from the bedroom.

Leo immediately looked at her.

Instinctively.

Always instinctively.

She looked comfortable here already.

Too comfortable.

Like she belonged.

“Everything’s done,” Donnie announced, stepping down from the ladder.

“Are you sure?” Leo asked immediately.

“Yes.”

“What about—”

“Yes.”

“And the—”

“Yes, Leo.”

“Maybe we should still—”

“Leo,” Donnie interrupted slowly, “I already triple checked the front door, I promise everything is done."

Jules laughed softly beside him.

Apparently her life’s mission was making his significantly harder.

April grabbed her coat.

“I’ve gotta head to work. We’re covering that downtown construction collapse tonight.”

Then she pulled Jules into a hug.

“Congrats on the new place.”

“Thank you again.”

“Of course.” April smiled warmly before heading toward the door. “I’ll come check on you tomorrow.”

Raph grabbed his jacket next.

“Casey’s waitin’ on me. Place looks good, Jule.”

“Thanks for helping.”

Raph gave her a small nod before climbing out.

Then Mikey clapped his hands loudly.

“Okay! Pizza movie night!”

Leo immediately intervened.

“I’m sure Jules is tired, Mikey.”

“What? No way! She’s gonna miss us too much when we leave.”

Leo gave him a look.

“What if we watch 13 Assassins?” Mikey suggested dramatically.

“No,” Leo said instantly.

Jules looked curious.

“What’s that?”

Mikey gasped like she’d committed a crime.

“Only the greatest samurai movie ever made.”

“It’s not—”

“In nineteenth century Japan,” Mikey continued dramatically, “Shinzaemon Shimada assembles a team of assassins to eliminate the ruthless Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira—”

Leo smacked the back of his head lightly.

“Ow!”

“It’s Leo’s favorite movie,” Donnie said casually.

Jules looked surprised.

“Oh. I haven’t seen it.”

“SEE?” Mikey pointed aggressively. “We should absolutely watch it.”

“Mikey,” Donnie interrupted, “didn’t you promise Master Splinter you’d finish the kintsugi pottery tonight?”

Mikey froze.

His eyes widened.

“Oh shit.”

Then he bolted upright.

“I FORGOT.”

He launched himself toward the window.

“Bye sugarpie love you! I'll see you tomorrow! I'll bring you apartment chocolates!"

And then he was gone.

Donnie grabbed his tablet.

“I’m out too. Goodnight Juliet.”

Then suddenly Leo found himself alone with her.

Again.

Not unusual lately.

They spent nearly every day together in some capacity.

Walking to work.

Walking home.

Meeting on rooftops.

Late night conversations.

Routine.

Dangerously domestic routine.

Leo should leave.

Give her space.

Let her settle into her new apartment.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye yet.

“Is there anything else you need?” he asked, mostly to buy more time.

“No, I think that’s everything.”

“Right.”

Awkward silence settled between them.

Leo looked around the room awkwardly.

“I should probably let you settle in.”

“13 Assassins.”

Leo looked up.

“Is it good?”

His chest betrayed him immediately.

“Oh. Yeah.” He nodded once. “I like it.”

“What’s it about?”

Leo hesitated slightly.

“It’s based on historical events. A group of samurai are sent to assassinate a corrupt lord before he destroys the country.”

Jules smiled faintly.

“Sounds like something you’d like.”

Leo huffed softly.

“Probably.”

“Maybe I’ll watch it.”

“Good.” Leo nodded. “You’ll have to tell me what you think.”

“...Or,” Jules said carefully, “you could stay and watch it with me?”

Butterflies.

Again.

Immediate. Violent. Unfair butterflies.

“You don’t have to,” Jules rushed out. “I just thought maybe I’d order food or something and—”

“I’ll stay.”

The relief on her face hit him harder than it should have.

“Okay,” she said softly. “Good.”

Leo watched her move around the apartment while she ordered food while he set up the television.

And embarrassingly enough, he couldn’t stop looking at her.

At the way her hair moved when she tucked it behind her ear.

At the way his jacket practically swallowed her whole.

She was beautiful.

Not just in dramatic moments.

Not just dressed up.

Not just when she smiled.

She was beautiful doing ordinary things too.

And somehow that felt more dangerous.

Soon the food arrived and they settled onto the couch together with the lights low and the movie playing softly.

They didn’t need to talk.

It was easy.

Comfortable.

At some point during the movie Jules drifted asleep against his shoulder.

Leo froze immediately.

Her breathing slowed.

Her head slipped slightly.

When she started sliding sideways, Leo carefully adjusted her until she rested against his chest instead.

Eventually he moved her fully onto his lap so she wouldn’t wake with a cramp in her neck.

She didn’t stir once.

Leo grabbed the throw blanket Mikey insisted the couch “desperately needed aesthetically” and draped it carefully over her.

Then he looked down at her sleeping peacefully against him.

Maybe Raph had been right.

Maybe Leo was getting too close to the line.

The problem now was he had absolutely no idea how to find his way back.

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Chapter Text

Chapter 22 - Jules

Jules woke to the soft scrape of metal outside her apartment window.

Not alarming.

Expected.

She rolled over beneath her blankets and stared blearily toward the fire escape just as another quiet tap sounded against the glass.

A smile tugged at her mouth before she could stop it.

She pushed herself upright and shuffled across the apartment, unlocking the window just as Leo crouched outside holding two coffee cups in one hand.

“You know,” Jules said sleepily as he climbed inside, “most people use front doors.”

Leo handed her a cup.

“We’ve established I’m not normal people.”

Warmth spread through her hands as she took the coffee.

Exactly how she liked it.

Again.

Jules still wasn’t fully used to someone remembering small things about her.

Leo remembered all of them.

How she took her coffee. Which rooftops she liked best. That she hated the sound of sirens late at night. That she preferred salty snacks over sweet ones unless she was stressed.

It was… dangerous honestly.

Not because Leo would hurt her.

Because he wouldn’t.

And that somehow felt more terrifying.

“You’re staring at your coffee again,” Leo observed.

Jules blinked.

“Sorry.”

“You apologize too much.”

“You notice too much.”

His mouth twitched faintly.

“Occupational hazard.”

—

Their walks to work had become something else entirely over the past couple weeks.

Not walks exactly.

Traversals.

Leo moved across rooftops with effortless balance while Jules followed behind him using the paths and fire escapes he’d slowly taught her.

At first she’d been terrified.

Now she trusted him completely.

Which was probably another problem.

Leo slowed slightly as they crossed another rooftop, waiting for her to catch up before offering his hand automatically over a wider gap.

Jules stared at it for half a second.

Three fingers.

Calloused palms.

Steady.

Safe.

She took it.

Leo pulled her across easily.

His hand lingered just a second too long afterward.

Or maybe she imagined it.

Neither of them acknowledged it.

By the time they reached Clarke & Anderson the city below was fully awake.

“You’ll call if you stay late?” Leo asked.

“I always do.”

Leo looked like he wanted to say something else.

Instead he just nodded.

“I’ll meet you after work.”

Jules tried not to notice how much she liked hearing that.

—

The day started normally enough.

Case files.

Evidence review.

Cross referencing financial reports from shell companies tied to Helix.

Jules sat surrounded by paperwork while several attorneys debated timelines nearby.

Most of it blurred together after a while.

Until one number caught her attention.

Her eyes narrowed.

Wait.

Jules pulled another file toward herself quickly.

Then another.

A private members club appeared repeatedly through several connected transactions.

The Velvet Room.

At first glance it looked insignificant.

Entertainment expenses. Corporate hosting. Luxury account transfers.

But the same routing numbers appeared in two different Helix connected shell companies.

Jules sat back slowly.

That was odd.

Very odd.

“Something interesting?”

Jules glanced up to find Harrison Clarke standing near the conference table.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Or maybe I’m losing my mind.”

“That happens eventually working these kinds of cases.”

Jules slid one of the reports toward him.

“The Velvet Room.”

Clarke skimmed the page.

“High-end club downtown,” he said. “We looked briefly into it already.”

“And?”

“Nothing substantial. Why?”

Jules frowned slightly.

“I don’t know yet.”

Clarke studied her for a moment.

“You’ve got the look.”

“What look?”

“The one you get before you start causing problems for criminals.”

Jules snorted softly.

“I’ll keep you updated.”

“Please do.”

But even after he walked away, the feeling stayed.

Something bothered her.

She spent another hour combing through records before finally leaning back in frustration.

Maybe it was nothing.

Probably nothing.

Still…

Jules opened her bag looking for a pen and froze when she spotted the small USB drive tucked inside one of the pockets.

Donnie’s USB.

Empty now.

Cleaned after Whitmore.

Ready to use again.

Jules stared at it for several long seconds.

Then sighed.

“One quick look,” she muttered to herself.

—

By the time evening fell, Jules stood in front of her mirror trying to decide if this was a terrible idea.

It definitely was.

The small black dress she finally settled on wasn’t something she would usually wear.

Simple.

Fitted.

Just enough to blend into an upscale club without drawing too much attention.

Though honestly she still felt overdressed.

Or underdressed.

One of the two.

She pulled on her coat, slipped the USB into her bag, and headed out before she could overthink herself into staying home.

—

The Velvet Room was beautiful in the kind of way that immediately put Jules on edge.

Everything was dim gold lighting and velvet furniture and low music drifting through expensive conversations.

People laughed too softly.

Smiled too carefully.

Pretended too hard.

Jules moved deeper into the club casually, keeping her expression relaxed while mentally mapping exits.

The office hallway had been surprisingly easy to access.

Too easy honestly.

One distracted employee.

One unsecured hallway.

And suddenly Jules found herself crouched beside an expensive looking computer terminal plugging Donnie’s USB into the system.

“Please work,” she whispered.

Folders populated rapidly.

Financial reports.

Private client records.

And what looked like a log with "subjects" transfer information.

Her pulse quickened.

Oh this was definitely something.

The USB blinked while files transferred over.

Almost done.

Footsteps echoed faintly somewhere nearby.

Jules stiffened.

Voices.

Closer.

She yanked the USB free immediately and slipped it into the top of her dress.

Nope.

Time to leave.

Jules moved quickly down the hallway before spotting a large bouncer turning the corner ahead.

Her stomach dropped.

Without thinking she ducked through the nearest door.

Cold air smacked her instantly.

Alley.

Great.

Three men stood near the back entrance smoking.

All three looked up.

Jules froze briefly before forcing herself to smile.

One of them laughed quietly.

“Well hey there.”

Another tilted his head slightly.

“You lost, sweetheart?”

“Apparently,” Jules replied lightly. “Your club desperately needs better signs.”

The men chuckled.

Not dangerous yet.

But not safe either.

Jules casually glanced behind herself.

Dead end toward the dumpsters.

Only exit was back through them.

Fantastic.

“You come outta the staff hallway?” one of them asked.

Jules shrugged.

“I was looking for the bathroom and made several deeply embarrassing wrong turns.”

“That so?”

“Mhm.”

The tallest one stepped closer.

Not enough to panic.

Enough to notice.

“You here alone?”

Jules gave a small teasing smile.

“Depends who’s asking.”

The men laughed again.

Flirting.

Deflecting.

Keeping things light.

Jules knew this dance unfortunately well.

“You got a name?” another asked.

“Do you?”

“Ouch,” one muttered dramatically.

Jules laughed softly despite herself.

Just keep them relaxed.

One more minute.

Then leave.

The tallest one moved closer again.

Too close now.

Jules kept smiling while every instinct sharpened painfully.

“You don’t really seem like the type for this place,” he said.

“What type is that?” Jules asked lightly.

The man’s eyes dragged slowly over her black dress before he smirked.

“The kind that sneaks through staff doors.”

One of the others laughed.

“Maybe she’s lookin’ for trouble.”

“Or maybe,” Jules said smoothly, “I’m just incredibly bad at directions.”

“Mm.” The tallest one stepped closer again. “Pretty girls usually don’t end up back here by accident.”

Jules kept her expression relaxed even as warning bells screamed in the back of her head.

“And yet here I am.”

Another man flicked ash from his cigarette.

“So what were you really doing inside?”

“Drinking overpriced cocktails and regretting my life choices mostly.”

That got another laugh out of them.

Good.

Keep them talking.

Keep them relaxed.

The tallest one tilted his head slightly.

“You got somebody waiting for you in there?”

Jules’ throat tightened for half a second.

Leo.

"Yes,” she lied easily.

The man hummed softly like he didn’t quite believe her.

Then he stepped even closer.

Close enough now that Jules could smell cigarette smoke and cologne.

“Shame,” he said quietly. "He ain't out here with you.”

His hand lifted slightly like he intended to touch her arm.

Jules’ stomach tightened.

Then something huge landed behind her.

Metal groaned violently overhead.

The alley shook beneath the impact.

All three men jerked backward instantly.

Silence crashed over the narrow space.

Jules felt it before she even turned around.

The overwhelming presence.

The fury radiating through the alley in suffocating waves.

And somehow—

before she looked—

she knew exactly who it was.

Leo.

Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Notes:

This is the chapter that started it all. This whole concept appeared one day when this scene played out in my head. From it has come this whole story that I am excited to share with you. So please enjoy!

Chapter Text

Chapter 23 - Leo

Leonardo wasn’t panicking.

He was assessing.

Strategizing.

Adapting to unforeseen complications.

That was what he told himself while staring down at the entrance of Clarke & Anderson for the last ten minutes.

Jules was late.

Not horribly late.

But late enough that Leo noticed.

She usually texted if she stayed behind at work.

Tonight?

Nothing.

Leo checked the time again.

Twenty-five minutes.

Okay.

Maybe Clarke buried her in paperwork.

Maybe she got distracted.

Jules got focused sometimes. Completely locked into whatever problem sat in front of her.

Leo actually found it kind of—

Cute.

Another five minutes passed.

Leo exhaled sharply before pulling out the small tablet Donnie modified for him.

He hardly ever checked the security feeds.

Hardly ever.

Just occasionally.

In very reasonable circumstances.

Like this.

Leo pulled up the Clarke & Anderson cameras.

Reception.

Empty.

Conference room.

Empty.

Jules’ desk.

Empty.

His stomach tightened.

Leo checked Clarke’s office next.

Nothing.

Then every hallway.

Every exit.

Every floor.

Nothing.

His pulse started pounding hard enough he could hear it.

No.

No no no.

She probably just went home.

That had to be it.

Leo immediately pulled up Donnie’s security logs for Jules’ apartment.

Front door opened two hours ago.

Closed.

Opened again twenty minutes later.

Leo stared at the screen.

Which meant she left around the exact time he arrived to wait for her.

His stomach dropped.

He grabbed his phone immediately.

“Yellow,” Donnie answered casually.

“Don.”

“It’s called hello. Society worked hard on it.”

“I need you to track Jules. Now.”

“What? Why?”

“Now, Donnie.”

Leo heard rapid typing immediately.

“What the hell…” Donnie muttered.

Leo’s chest tightened harder.

“What?!”

“She’s on the south side.” More typing. “At some club called The Velvet Room.”

Leo froze.

Donnie continued.

“It’s tied to Purple Dragon activity.”

Shit.

“Send me the address.”

Leo didn’t wait for another response before launching himself across the skyline.

Wind tore violently past him as he moved.

Too fast.

Too reckless.

Why would she go alone again?

His mind flashed instantly back to the Helix break in.

Whitmore.

Blood.

Fear.

That horrible moment he thought he wouldn’t reach her in time.

Panic clawed viciously up his throat.

Beside him he heard familiar movement.

His brothers.

Of course they followed him.

“Why is Jules at a club?” Mikey asked while leaping across another rooftop.

Leo didn’t answer.

“Maybe she got a lead,” Donnie said.

“Maybe she’s in trouble,” Raph countered grimly.

“Maybe she’s on a date?” Mikey suggested.

Leo nearly missed his landing.

Raph looked disgusted.

“Yeah because nothin’ says romance like organized crime.”

Now Leo felt something hot and ugly mixing with the panic.

The thought of Jules here with someone else made something territorial twist painfully in his chest.

Which was insane.

And irrational.

And deeply concerning.

The Velvet Room appeared ahead glowing gold against the dark street below.

Leo slowed immediately.

“Donnie. Eyes.”

Donatello pulled out his tablet and started rapidly cycling through nearby cameras.

Leo forced himself to breathe.

Slow.

Controlled.

Not panicking.

Definitely not panicking.

Then he heard voices.

Male voices.

Behind the club.

Leo turned sharply toward the alley entrance.

And saw her.

Three men stood surrounding Jules near the back exit.

All bigger than her.

Too close.

Way too close.

And she was wearing—

Leo’s brain short circuited for half a second.

Black dress.

Small.

Fitted.

Her legs bare against the cold night air.

She looked beautiful.

And the fact he noticed that right now only made him angrier.

One of the men leaned closer toward her.

Leo heard him say something low.

Saw Jules give a tight smile.

Then the guy lifted a hand toward her.

Enough.

Leo dropped straight into the alley.

The impact cracked against the pavement.

All three men jumped violently backward.

Jules barely flinched.

That somehow affected him more than anything else.

She knew it was him.

Without even turning around.

Leo moved forward slowly.

Each step echoed through the tight alley.

Jules backed up slightly until her back brushed against the front of his plastron.

The contact nearly shattered the remainder of his self control.

Leo stared the men down hard enough that one visibly paled.

“What the fuck is that?” one whispered.

Then Leo heard movement overhead.

Raph.

Mikey.

Donnie.

Surrounding positions.

Silent.

Threatening.

The men finally seemed to process exactly how outnumbered they were.

“Let’s get the hell outta here.”

They practically tripped over themselves trying to flee the alley.

Leo watched until they disappeared completely.

Only then did Jules slowly turn around.

Leo didn’t step back.

She had to tilt her head up just to meet his eyes.

Whatever she saw there made her stop talking before she even started.

Good.

Because Leo genuinely didn’t know if he could handle hearing her justify this right now.

Without thinking, he bent down and lifted her into his arms.

“Leo—”

“No.”

Just that one word.

Sharp.

Final.

Then he launched upward toward the rooftops.

The trip back to the lair passed in tense silence.

Jules held onto him loosely.

Not tightly like usual.

Like she wasn’t sure what to do with him right now.

Honestly neither was he.

His brothers wisely stayed quiet.

Though Leo could feel them watching.

By the time they landed in the lair, Leo’s anger still hadn’t cooled.

Not even close.

The second he set Jules down, he gently but firmly took hold of her arm and led her away from his brothers before anyone could speak.

Straight into the med bay.

Door shut.

Silence.

Leo braced both hands against the nearest counter and tried to regulate his breathing.

Didn’t work.

He turned around.

And immediately made things worse for himself.

Because now he could actually look at her.

—and every coherent thought in his brain disappeared.

The dress was somehow worse under the medbay lights.

Or better.

Definitely worse.

Definitely better.

It was black and fitted and far too distracting for a man already hanging onto the last thread of his self-control. The fabric hugged her waist and hips, the hem stopping high enough that Leo could see the smooth length of her legs in a way he absolutely had not been prepared for.

He had seen Jules in oversized sweaters.

In his jackets.

In work clothes and sweatpants and bundled in winter layers.

But this?

This felt unfair.

Her skin looked warm. Soft. Bare shoulders exposed where the dress dipped slightly, collarbone catching the light every time she breathed.

Leo’s eyes betrayed him completely.

She was so—

Beautiful.

Absolutely devastating.

Leo also realized suddenly—

“You don’t even have a coat,” he muttered.

Jules blinked.

“What?”

Then Leo snapped.

“What the hell was that?!”

Jules crossed her arms immediately.

“Oh that was you dropping in and causing a scene."

“That’s what you call that?!”

“Well I wouldn’t exactly call it subtle!”

Leo physically turned away before he punched something.

“Juliet,” he snapped, “you left work alone without telling anyone where you were going and went into a known criminal hotspot by yourself!”

“I’m not a child that needs permission to leave the house!”

“No,” Leo barked, spinning back toward her, “just a wanted thief!”

Jules flinched slightly.

Leo hated himself instantly.

That still didn’t stop him.

“What did you think was going to happen?!” he demanded.

“Oh I know!” Leo snapped throwing his hands in the air. “The Foot broke into my apartment and destroyed everything I own! They’ve tried to capture me MULTIPLE times! So obviously the smartest thing I could possibly do is go alone to some underground club crawling with criminals! There’s absolutely no chance someone there recognizes me!”

His voice echoed through the medbay.

Leo vaguely realized he hadn’t argued like this since he and Raph were teenagers. Loud. Angry. Completely losing control of the conversation.

But every word out of Juliet’s mouth kept pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

“I had a lead!”

“So tell your team!”

“I’m not on your team!”

The words hit him like a punch.

Leo stepped closer before he could stop himself.

“Goddammit! Yes you are!”

Jules stared at him breathing hard.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

Leo needed to release some of the anger, he grabbed the nearest book off the counter and hurled it across the room.

It slammed violently into the wall.

Jules didn’t even flinch.

“You don’t scare me, Leo.”

His chest hurt.

“You think I ever wanted to scare you?!”

His voice cracked slightly on the last word.

Leo shouted back. “All I have ever tried to do is keep you safe!”

He dragged a hand over his face before pointing at her in frustration.

“But you just keep throwing yourself into danger like none of it matters! You steal from Helix! You confront Whitmore alone! You walk into some underground club without telling anybody where you’re going!”

His chest heaved.

“And every single time I’m left wondering if I’m gonna get there too late.”

“I had it handled.”

“That man was about to put his hands on you!”

“I would’ve dealt with it!”

“How?!”

“By flirting!” Jules shouted back. “That was the point of the dress!”

Leo’s eyes dropped to the black fabric instinctively.

Big mistake.

“Don’t even get me started on that dress.”

Jules’ jaw dropped.

Leo immediately realized he walked directly into a trap and somehow kept going anyway.

“You’re acting like I’m helpless!”

“I’m acting like you matter!”

The room went dead silent.

“Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to you?!”

“Because of my dress?!”

“Because of YOU!”

“What does that even mean?!”

Leo gestured wildly toward her.

“You just—you are—you— you—”

“What?!” Jules demanded stepping closer now too. “You what?! Finish the sentence, Leonardo!”

Leo couldn’t.

Because every possible answer was catastrophic.

You terrify me.

You matter too much.

You make me lose every ounce of self control I have.

She was too close now.

Too angry.

Too beautiful.

And Leo finally snapped.

He grabbed her face carefully but desperately and kissed her.

Everything stopped.

The shouting.

The panic.

The noise in his head.

Gone.

All Leo could feel was the warmth of her lips against his.

Leo felt Jules make the smallest startled sound before her fingers gently rest on the front of his plastron.

Soft.

Real.

There.

It didn’t feel explosive.

Didn’t feel like fireworks.

It felt inevitable.

Like the final piece of something clicking painfully into place.

Then Jules shifted slightly beneath his hands.

Not pulling away.

Just moving.

And reality crashed back over him instantly.

What was he doing?

What was he doing?!

Leo jerked backward like he’d been burned alive.

Jules looked just as stunned as he felt.

Her lips were parted slightly.

Eyes wide.

Cheeks flushed.

Leo’s entire body went cold.

He had crossed the line.

Not stepped near it.

Not leaned over it.

He obliterated it.

Oh god.

He ruined everything.

Leo stumbled backward hard enough to slam into a metal tray behind him.

It crashed loudly to the floor.

He barely noticed.

He could barely breathe.

She stared at him silently and somehow that was worse.

Way worse.

Because now he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Disgust?

Shock?

Regret?

Pity?

Leo’s panic spiraled instantly.

Jules’ expression shifted.

“Leo—”

He couldn’t look at her.

Couldn’t survive looking at her.

Because one horrified realization kept repeating in his head over and over:

You just ruined everything.

His chest physically hurt.

He’d spent months trying not to cross that line.

Trying not to want more than friendship.

Trying not to burden her with feelings she could never possibly return.

And now he’d forced this onto her.

Like an idiot.

Like a selfish idiot.

Leo took another step back.

Then another.

Jules moved toward him slightly.

And that terrified him even more.

He looked at her one final time.

Then did the worst thing he’d done in years.

He ran.

Coward.

The word echoed in his skull the entire way out of the medbay.

He heard his brothers shout something as he stormed past them.

Ignored it.

So much for a fearless leader.

Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Chapter 24 — Jules

He kissed me.

…He kissed me.

Leonardo had grabbed her face and kissed her.

And Jules couldn’t think straight.

She stood frozen in the middle of the medbay, heart pounding so hard it almost hurt. The room felt too quiet now. Too still after the shouting. After the fight.

After him.

Her fingers lifted slowly to her lips.

She could still feel it.

The warmth of his mouth against hers.

The pressure of his hands holding her face so carefully despite how furious he’d been seconds before.

He kissed me.

Jules let out a shaky breath.

Then immediately cringed at herself.

Because she had just stood there.

Like an idiot.

No response. No movement. Nothing.

Her stomach twisted violently.

God.

The butterflies still hadn’t stopped.

Jules leaned back against the counter behind her and closed her eyes.

Leo’s face flashed through her mind instantly.

The anger.

The panic.

Then that split second after he kissed her—

Pure shock.

Like he hadn’t meant to do it.

Like he couldn’t believe what he’d done.

But he did do it.

He kissed her.

Which meant some part of him had wanted to.

Jules swallowed hard.

Her thoughts started replaying every moment between them over the last few months.

Late night rooftop conversations.

Movie nights.

The way he always handed her coffee exactly how she liked it without asking.

The way he held her hand while guiding her over rooftops.

How easily she had started leaning against him during movies.

How naturally she had started searching for him whenever she walked into a room.

Then her thoughts drifted to the smaller moments.

The dangerous ones.

The ones she should’ve noticed sooner.

Leo pushing her hair behind her ear.

His hands on her waist when she slipped climbing into the sewer tunnel.

The way he looked at her after.

The way he immediately looked away.

The tension whenever they got too close.

The way her stomach flipped every single time he touched her.

And God—

The way she noticed his arms when he trained.

The way he looked standing on rooftops with moonlight catching against blue fabric.

Jules opened her eyes abruptly.

“Oh my god,” she whispered to herself.

How had she missed this?

How had she missed her own feelings?

She had never been close enough to anyone for this before.

Never trusted anyone enough.

Never wanted anyone around this much.

But Leo…

Leo was different.

He was fierce and patient and gentle all at once.

Protective to a fault.

Always there.

He always came for her.

Always.

Even tonight.

He’d been furious and terrified and still came for her.

Jules felt guilt twist sharply in her chest.

Because he had been right.

She should have told him where she was going.

She should have told someone.

Instead she’d walked into danger alone again like she always did.

Because that was what she knew.

Handle it yourself.

Trust yourself.

Need nobody.

But Leo had been standing there for months proving over and over again that she didn’t have to do everything alone anymore.

And she still acted like she did.

Jules groaned softly and covered her face with both hands.

“You are such an idiot,” she muttered.

She needed to find him.

Needed to apologize.

Needed to—

Tell him what exactly?

Hey, sorry for veing reckless... again. Also I think I liked when you kissed me and now I can’t stop thinking about it?

Jules slid her hands down her face slowly.

She was completely out of her depth.

He kissed her.

And she liked it.

And he was a turtle.

A mutant turtle.

A ninja mutant turtle.

And the mutant turtle thing honestly should’ve been the weirdest part of this situation.

But somehow it wasn’t.

Because when she thought about Leo…

That wasn’t what she thought about first.

She thought about his laugh.

His routines.

The way he softened whenever she was upset.

The way he looked at her like she mattered.

The way she felt safer beside him than anywhere else in the world.

Jules took a long breath.

Okay.

She would find him.

Apologize.

Then maybe…

Maybe they could talk about the kiss.

Because he kissed her.

And Jules wanted him to do it again.

The thought made her blush violently.

She pushed herself away from the counter and slowly stepped out of the medbay.

The lair was unusually quiet.

No Mikey.

No Raph.

No Donnie.

Good.

She didn’t think she could survive conversation right now.

Her eyes immediately searched for blue.

Nothing.

Of course.

Jules made her way toward Leo’s room.

She knocked softly first.

No answer.

Then she opened the door carefully.

Empty.

A strange disappointment settled in her chest.

If he wasn’t here…

She probably wouldn’t find him.

Jules stepped inside slowly.

Leo’s room felt so unmistakably him.

Organized but lived in.

Books stacked neatly across shelves.

Training gear carefully maintained.

Her eyes landed on the sword mounted separately on the wall.

The older one.

She had always meant to ask him about it.

Now she wondered what stories he would tell if she did.

Jules sighed softly.

If she was spiraling right now, Leo was probably worse.

His face after the kiss…

He’d looked completely wrecked.

So maybe she should give him space.

Just for tonight.

She spotted a notepad on his desk and hesitated before grabbing it.

After a second she scribbled a short note.

Then she grabbed the spare jacket she’d left draped over his chair and slipped it on.

It still smelled faintly like him.

Which absolutely did not help her current mental state.

She headed for the exit.

Donnie appeared briefly down one hallway carrying equipment, but she moved before he could stop her.

The city air hit her face the second she stepped topside.

Quiet.

Cold.

And strangely lonely without Leo beside her.

Jules shoved her hands deeper into the jacket pockets and started walking.

She decided to take the longer route home.

The fresh air might help clear her head.

Though honestly all she could think about was—

He kissed me.

Again.

And again.

Her thoughts wandered helplessly toward what might have happened if she’d kissed him back.

Would he have deepened it?

Would he have touched her waist again?

Would he have—

Her phone buzzed.

Jules blinked and pulled it out.

Mikey.

She stared at the screen.

Then sighed.

Leo definitely noticed she wasn’t home yet.

He probably timed it.

Because of course he did.

And there was absolutely no chance Mikey was calling on his own.

Jules answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey sugarpie!”

“Hey Mikey.”

“Whatcha doin?”

“Walking.”

“Mhm. Where ya walking to?”

“Home.”

“Ohhh really? Cause I thought maybe you’d already be home because—”

“You can tell Leo I took Belmont instead of Rutland.”

A pause.

“What!? Leo? Why would I tell Leo anything? That’s crazy. Honestly who even likes that guy—”

Jules heard muffled rustling in the background.

Then what sounded suspiciously like someone getting elbowed.

Despite herself, she almost smiled.

Then movement caught her eye at the far end of the block.

Jules’ smile faded instantly.

A man standing near the corner.

Watching.

Her pulse ticked upward.

She looked behind herself casually.

Another figure further back.

A cold feeling crawled slowly up her spine.

“Mikey,” she said quietly.

Mikey was still rambling.

“—and honestly if Leo was here which he isn’t—”

“Mikey.”

Something in her voice must’ve changed.

The joking stopped immediately.

“I need Leo.”

Instant rustling.

Then Leo’s voice hit her ear hard and immediate.

“Jules.”

The sheer intensity in his voice made her chest tighten.

“What's wrong?”

Relief hit so fast it almost hurt.

She started walking faster.

“I think I’m being followed.”

Silence.

Not empty silence.

Movement silence.

Fast movement.

She could hear wind through the phone.

They were already running.

“Can you see them?” Leo asked sharply.

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are they close?”

Another figure appeared ahead.

Jules’ stomach dropped.

“Yes.”

“Are there other people nearby?”

“One person entering their building.”

“Good. Listen to me carefully.”

His voice went calm.

Too calm.

Which somehow scared her more.

“I need you to keep walking like everything is normal. Do not run yet.”

Jules swallowed hard.

“Okay.”

“Once the street clears, you run. As fast as you can. Do not go toward your apartment. I’ll find you.”

Her breathing started shaking.

“Okay.”

“We’re close.”

We.

The brothers were with him.

Good.

Another shadow moved behind her.

Closer now.

Jules could hear footsteps.

“Leo…”

“I know.”

She turned the corner fast.

Too fast.

One of the men ahead noticed.

His head lifted.

Jules’ heart dropped.

There were more of them than she thought.

And suddenly—

She knew.

Leo wasn’t going to make it in time.

Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Chapter Text

Chapter 25 - Leo

Leo could hear her breathing.

Fast.

Uneven.

Every sharp inhale punched straight through his chest as he ran across the rooftops.

“Jules!” he shouted into Mikey’s phone.

He heard pounding footsteps.

A broken gasp.

Then—

A scream.

A loud crack echoed through the line like the phone hitting concrete.

Then silence.

“Jules?!”

Nothing.

“JULES!”

The line cut off.

Leo felt the world tilt beneath him.

No.

No no no no—

Jules was a fighter.

He just had to get there.

Leo and his brothers dropped hard into the alley where Donnie tracked the signal.

Empty.

Leo’s eyes darted wildly around the narrow alleyway.

Then he saw it.

Jules’ phone.

Destroyed beneath a boot print.

Something inside him snapped.

Leo drove his fist into the brick wall beside him.

The wall exploded inward with a deafening crack.

Dust rained down around them.

Nobody spoke.

Leo stood there breathing hard, staring at the broken stone embedded in his knuckles.

Think.

“Leo,” Raph said sharply.

Leo turned.

Painted across the opposite wall in black spray paint was an address.

And in the corner—

The symbol of the Foot Clan.

Mikey swore under his breath.

“Why would they take her now?” Donnie asked quietly.

“She stole from Helix,” Raph said. “Maybe they finally decided to retaliate.”

“No.” Donnie shook his head immediately. “That doesn’t make sense. The Whitmore trial happened months ago. The information’s already out. Taking Jules now doesn’t undo any of that.”

Whitmore’s voice slammed into Leo’s head.

"I don’t think she has much time left to appreciate it."

Leo felt ice spread through his body.

No.

Whitmore was a liar.

Manipulative.

Desperate.

But then why take her?

“What’s the play?” Raph asked, looking at him carefully.

Leo stared at the address.

Then he started moving.

“Act now. Questions later.”

---

The building sat abandoned on the edge of the industrial district.

Old.

Decaying.

Perfect for a trap.

Leo barely slowed walking toward the entrance.

“Uh…” Mikey said nervously. “I got a real bad feeling in my shell right now.”

Donnie was scanning blueprints on his tablet as they approached.

“Heat signatures throughout the building. A lot of them.”

“Ambush?” Raph asked quietly.

Leo’s eyes stayed fixed on the door.

“They already know we’re coming.”

“So?”

“We walk through the front.”

All three brothers looked at him.

“You're serious?” Mikey asked.

“They took her for a reason,” Leo said. “We find out why. We get her back.”

And before anyone could argue—

Leo dropped down and shoved open the doors.

The warehouse interior was massive.

Dim.

Rust coated nearly every metal surface.

Cargo vans lined one wall beside large loading doors.

Leo felt eyes tracking them immediately.

Watching.

Waiting.

The brothers moved deeper into the building slowly.

Tension crawled through the air.

Then—

Floodlights exploded on overhead.

The entire warehouse illuminated at once.

Foot soldiers surrounded them from every level.

Catwalks.

Balconies.

Ground floor.

Dozens of them.

“So glad you could join us.”

Leo looked up.

Karai stood on the upper platform overlooking the warehouse.

Leo stepped forward instinctively.

“Where is she?”

Karai smiled.

“The lawyer? The one you’ve become so attached to?”

Leo’s jaw tightened.

“She’s caused quite a bit of trouble for us lately.”

Leo’s grip tightened around his swords.

“What do you want?”

Karai leaned casually against the railing.

“We want what belongs to us.”

Leo’s heartbeat stuttered.

She took more.

Something Leo didn’t know about.

Karai continued.

“Return what was stolen… and perhaps we return your human.”

“How do we know you even have her?” Raph shouted.

Karai smirked.

Heavy footsteps echoed behind her.

Then Shredder emerged from the shadows.

Dragging Juliet with him.

Leo stopped breathing.

Her hands were bound tightly behind her back.

Tape covered her mouth.

There was dirt smeared across her legs.

Her hair messy from struggling.

And her eyes—

Her eyes found his instantly.

Relief crashed across her face the second she saw him.

It hurt Leo to witness it.

Shredder yanked her violently closer.

Leo saw her flinch.

“Give us what she stole,” Shredder ordered.

Donnie leaned toward Leo slightly.

“We don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Leo kept his eyes on Jules.

“We don’t have access to it right now.”

“Liar.”

Shredder’s voice shook the room.

Shredder tightened his grip on Juliet’s arm hard enough to make her stumble.

Leo immediately took a step forward.

“Don’t.”

Every Foot soldier in the room shifted instantly.

Weapons ready.

Leo forced himself still.

Juliet’s eyes found his again.

And Leo realized she looked terrified.

Not of Shredder.

Of him.

No—

Not him.

For him.

Like she was scared what he would do.

“We don’t have what you want,” Leo said carefully, trying to keep his voice level. “But we can find it.”

Karai tilted her head.

“And how many more operations will she destroy while we wait?”

Leo’s jaw tightened.

“She stole from Helix,” Karai continued. “Exposed supply routes. Destroyed years of work.”

Shredder jerked her violently backward.

Leo’s pulse spiked.

“Enough!” he shouted.

The word echoed through the warehouse.

For one second—

Everything stopped.

Then Shredder spoke.

“She was meant to be monitored.”

Leo felt something cold slide down his spine.

“She was meant to remain controlled.”

Juliet’s eyes widened slightly.

Karai looked almost irritated now.

“Instead she became attached.”

Her eyes flicked meaningfully toward Leo.

“And emotional attachments create complications.”

Leo felt his brothers tense behind him.

“We can fix this,” Leo said immediately. “Whatever this is—we can fix it.”

Karai laughed softly.

“You still believe this is negotiation.”

Then Shredder shoved Juliet forward.

She stumbled hard onto her knees with a muffled cry.

Leo moved without thinking.

“Leo—!” Raph barked warningly behind him.

Too late.

The second Leo moved, Foot soldiers dropped from above surrounding the floor.

Weapons drawn.

Leo slowly lowered his swords.

His voice came out rough.

“Take me instead.”

Silence.

Even Karai looked mildly surprised.

“She’s human,” Leo continued. “She doesn’t matter to your war. Let her go.”

Juliet made a broken sound behind the tape.

Shredder stared at Leo for a long moment.

Then finally—

“She mattered once.”

Leo’s heart stopped.

“She no longer does.”

Shredder reached down suddenly and hauled Juliet back upright.

Leo saw it happen.

Saw the exact moment Shredder’s claws shifted.

Saw silver catch the light.

Saw Juliet realize it too.

Her eyes flew wide.

“WAIT—”

Leo didn’t even recognize his own voice.

Shredder drove the blades forward.

The sound came first.

A sickening wet impact.

Then Juliet’s body jerked violently.

The metal burst through the front of her stomach in a spray of red.

For one impossible second—

Nobody moved.

Leo stared.

His brain refused to understand what he was seeing.

Blood slid slowly down the silver blades protruding from Juliet’s body.

Her eyes locked onto Leo’s.

Shock.

Pain.

Fear.

And somehow—

Apology.

Leo couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t hear.

Couldn’t think.

The entire warehouse blurred around the edges.

All he could see was her.

The blood soaking through the black fabric of her dress.

The trembling in her body.

The way her knees weakened.

Then Shredder ripped the claws back out.

Juliet collapsed instantly.

Her body hit the metal floor with a horrible sound.

Leo felt something inside himself tear open.

The world suddenly came rushing back all at once.

His brothers shouting.

Steel clashing.

Foot soldiers moving.

But it all sounded far away.

Muffled.

Distorted.

Like he was underwater.

Leo moved automatically.

One second he was on the warehouse floor.

The next he was on the platform.

He dropped beside her so hard his knees slammed painfully into metal.

Juliet lay crumpled on her side in spreading blood.

Too much blood.

Way too much.

Leo’s hands shook violently as he rolled her carefully onto her back.

Her eyes fluttered weakly.

Still alive.

Thank god.

Leo pressed both hands over the wound desperately.

Blood immediately forced through his fingers hot and thick.

Someone was shouting his name.

Leo couldn’t process it.

Juliet made a weak sound.

Leo looked down instantly.

Her eyes were barely open now.

Fighting.

She was fighting to stay awake.

“Hey,” Leo said quickly, voice breaking. “Hey stay with me okay? Stay with me.”

Her gaze struggled to focus on him.

Her bound hands twitched weakly behind her back.

Like she was trying to reach him.

“Donnie!” Raph shouted somewhere behind him. “Call Mercer NOW!”

Juliet’s breathing hitched painfully.

Leo pressed harder against the wound.

Blood kept coming.

He couldn’t stop it.

Leo stared down at Jules.

He gently removed the tape on her mouth.

Her lips parted weakly.

“L-Leo…”

Her voice barely existed.

Leo finally felt air enter his lungs again.

“I’m here,” he breathed immediately. “I’m here.”

Her face twisted painfully.

She was trying so hard not to pass out.

Trying to stay awake.

For him.

That realization nearly shattered him.

“Leo!”

Someone grabbed his shoulder.

Raph.

“We gotta move!”

Raph and Mikey were suddenly there helping move her.

Donnie yelling routes.

None of it felt real.

Then Leo was in the van.

The inside of the van rattled violently as Mikey sped through the streets, but Leo barely noticed.

All he could see was Jules.

Her skin already looked wrong.

Too pale.

Her breathing came in weak little pulls like each one hurt.

“Stay awake,” Leo whispered harshly, voice cracking. “Jules stay with me.”

Her eyelids fluttered.

Leo leaned closer immediately, one hand moving from her stomach to cradle the side of her face. Blood smeared across her cheek from his palm.

“I’m here,” he said quickly. “I’m right here.”

Jules looked at him slowly like it took effort just to focus.

“Leo…” she breathed.

Hearing his name from her like that nearly shattered him.

He lowered his forehead against hers instinctively.

The motion was desperate.

Protective.

Like if he stayed close enough maybe she wouldn’t slip away.

“You’re okay,” he lied, voice trembling badly now. “You’re gonna be okay.”

He felt tears burning in his eyes.

Leonardo did not cry.

He kept control.

He stayed calm.

But when Jules gave a weak little sound of pain and her hand barely twitched against his arm, something inside him broke apart.

A tear slipped free before he could stop it.

Then another.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut hard, forehead still pressed against hers.

“Please,” he whispered.

Not to her.

To anyone listening.

“Please don’t do this.”

The van hit a sharp turn.

Raph was saying something beside him. Donnie was talking rapidly into a phone. Mikey was speeding through traffic like a madman.

Leo heard none of it clearly.

His entire world had narrowed down to Jules’ uneven breathing.

To the blood on his hands.

To the terrifying weight of her body growing weaker in his arms.

Jules shifted slightly, face tightening in pain.

Leo immediately moved closer.

“I know,” he whispered shakily. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

The nickname slipped out without thought.

His thumb brushed weakly against her cheekbone.

“You gotta stay with me,” he pleaded quietly. “You can yell at me later, okay? You can tell me I was overreacting again. Just—” his voice broke completely. “Just stay.”

Jules’ eyes opened halfway.

She looked exhausted.

But she looked at him.

Actually looked at him.

And somehow that hurt worse.

Her fingers weakly caught against the front of his plastron.

Leo covered her hand instantly with his own.

“I’m here,” he repeated desperately. “I’m not leaving you. I swear I’m not leaving you.”

Then he bowed his head again, pressing against her like holding her together with sheer force would somehow save her while silent tears fell onto both of them.

Pain flooded her expression.

But she looked at him.

“I…” she whispered weakly. “I never told you…”

“Shh,” Leo said instantly, voice breaking. “Don’t talk.”

She shook her head slightly.

Like it mattered.

Like she needed him to know.

“Blue…” she whispered through broken breaths. “My favorite color… it’s blue…”

Leo felt something inside his chest cave inward.

“Jules—”

Her eyes closed.

“No.”

Leo shook her gently.

“No no no no—Jules!”

Her head rolled weakly against his arm.

Still breathing.

Barely.

“Juliet.”

His voice cracked apart on her name.

And for the first time in Leonardo’s life—

He felt completely helpless.

The van jerked to a stop.

Doors flew open.

April stood outside beside Dr. Mercer.

April covered her mouth instantly.

“Oh my god…”

Dr. Mercer moved fast.

Leo didn’t want to let go.

He physically couldn’t make his arms move.

Raph had to help pry Jules from him.

Leo watched numbly as they transferred her onto a gurney.

Watched doctors rush her through double doors.

Watched blood drip onto the floor behind her.

Then she disappeared.

And Leo stood there covered in her blood—

Unable to breathe.

Unable to think.

Unable to feel anything except terror.

Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Chapter 26 - Leo

Leo sat completely still.

His hands were stained red.

Dried blood had settled into the cracks of his skin.

Juliet's blood.

He stared at it.

Unable to look away.

Around him, his brothers waited.

Raph paced.

Back and forth.

Like if he stopped moving something terrible would catch up to him.

Donnie sat with his leg bouncing so hard it shook the entire ventilation unit he was perched on.

Mikey twisted his fingers together repeatedly.

Over and over.

Everyone was doing something.

Everyone except Leo.

Leo sat like a statue.

Barely blinking.

Barely breathing.

Barely existing.

He wasn't sure how long had passed since they arrived at the hospital.

An hour.

Maybe three.

Maybe ten.

Time had stopped making sense after the van doors closed behind Jules.

After doctors pulled her from his arms.

After the blood started drying on his skin.

The rooftop around them was quiet.

Too quiet.

Every few minutes Leo would hear hospital sounds drifting through the night air.

Sirens.

Voices.

The distant hum of traffic.

Life continuing.

Like the world didn't understand something catastrophic had happened.

Leo replayed it again.

The warehouse.

The platform.

The silver flash of Shredder's claws.

The sound.

God.

The sound.

The wet impact echoed endlessly through his mind.

Again.

And again.

Every replay ended the same way.

Jules collapsing.

Blood spreading.

Her eyes finding him.

Always him.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut.

What could he have done differently?

He should've told everyone what Whitmore said.

He should've told Jules.

He should've taken the threat seriously.

He should've found her sooner.

He should've stopped the fight.

He should've walked her home.

He should've talked to her.

He should've—

Leo's chest tightened painfully.

No.

Stop.

None of that mattered right now.

Because she was alive.

She had to be.

Mercer was still operating.

That was good.

Good.

If she was gone already, someone would've said something.

Mercer wouldn't still be working.

Right?

Leo latched onto the thought immediately.

She was a fighter.

She survived Helix.

She survived Whitmore.

She survived being hunted.

She survived things that would've broken most people.

She could survive this.

She would survive this.

She had to.

Because the alternative—

No.

Leo refused to think about it.

Beside him, Donnie finally broke the silence.

"The longer it takes the better."

Everyone looked at him.

Donnie swallowed.

"If Mercer hasn't come out... he's still working."

His voice sounded strained.

Hopeful.

Desperate.

"If he's still working that means she's still..."

He couldn't finish.

Nobody could.

Leo stared back down at his hands.

Maybe.

Maybe Donnie was right.

Maybe tomorrow Jules would wake up.

Maybe she'd yell at him for hovering.

Maybe she'd tell him he was being dramatic.

Maybe she'd roll her eyes and drink terrible hospital coffee.

Maybe they'd never have to talk about the kiss.

Maybe they could pretend none of the last twenty-four hours happened.

Maybe.

The word became a lifeline.

So they waited.

And waited.

Exhaustion started creeping into everyone's faces.

Mikey leaned against the cold stone wall.

April sat with her arms wrapped around herself.

Even Raph stopped pacing eventually.

But Leo remained exactly where he was.

Motionless.

Then he heard it.

Footsteps.

Leo stood so fast everyone jumped.

The hospital door opened.

Dr. Mercer stepped onto the rooftop.

The physician looked exhausted.

Older somehow.

His shoulders slumped beneath the weight of bad news.

And suddenly Leo's stomach dropped.

Because doctors only looked like that when something was wrong.

Mercer approached slowly.

The group gathered around him.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody wanted to.

Mercer removed his glasses.

Leo knew.

The second he removed them.

Leo knew.

His heart started hammering against his ribs.

No.

"Is this everyone?" Mercer asked quietly.

Everyone nodded.

Mercer took a breath.

"Juliet arrived with severe abdominal trauma."

Leo wasn't listening anymore.

Not really.

His ears were ringing.

The words sounded distant.

Like they were underwater.

"...significant blood loss..."

No.

"...damage to the liver..."

No.

"...multiple complications..."

No.

Mercer looked down.

Then back up.

"...and despite my team's best efforts..."

"No."

Mikey's voice cracked.

Mercer swallowed.

"We were unable to save her."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Then:

"Your friend has died."

The words landed.

And the world stopped.

Leo stared at him.

Waiting.

Waiting for the rest.

Waiting for the correction.

The explanation.

The part where Mercer said they brought her back.

The part where he said there was still hope.

The part where—

Nothing came.

April made a strangled sound.

Casey pulled her into his chest.

Mikey dropped to his knees.

Donnie immediately started talking.

Questions.

Statistics.

Details.

Anything except acceptance.

Leo watched all of it happen.

Like he was watching someone else's life.

Far away.

Disconnected.

Then he saw Raph moving toward him.

"Leo."

Leo took a step back.

Raph stopped.

"Leo."

Another step.

The rooftop suddenly felt too small.

Too crowded.

Too loud.

Everyone was looking at him.

Everyone was talking.

Everyone was moving.

And Leo couldn't breathe.

He couldn't.

Not if those words were true.

Not if—

"Leo."

"No."

His voice barely worked.

Raph took another step.

Leo took two back.

"Don't."

Raph froze.

The world tilted.

The pressure in Leo's chest became unbearable.

He couldn't stay here.

Couldn't stand here while everyone looked at him.

Couldn't hear another person say her name.

Couldn't—

Leo turned and ran.

---

He ran.

Across rooftops.

Across streets.

Across entire sections of the city.

Buildings blurred together.

The cold wind cut across his face.

He welcomed it.

Maybe if he ran long enough he could outrun the reality chasing him.

Maybe if he moved fast enough he wouldn't have to think.

Wouldn't have to remember.

Wouldn't have to hear Mercer saying—

No.

Leo pushed harder.

Leaping.

Running.

Moving.

Until there was nowhere left to go.

The city slowly gave way to older neighborhoods.

Smaller buildings.

Empty streets.

Quiet.

Leo finally stopped.

His chest burned.

His legs ached.

He didn't care.

He stared out across the dark skyline.

And finally—

His thoughts caught up.

Juliet.

Gone.

The word didn't feel real.

Gone.

Her smile.

Gone.

Her laugh.

Gone.

Her small touches.

Gone.

Movie nights.

Gone.

The rooftop conversations.

Gone.

Everything.

Gone.

Leo's knees nearly gave out.

The last thing he had done was argue with her.

The last thing he had done before kissing her was yell.

The last thing he had done after kissing her...

Was run away.

Like a coward.

He remembered seeing her looking for him.

Watching from a distance.

Seeing her check the common areas.

Seeing her go into his room.

Seeing her come back out.

He could've stopped her.

Could've called her name.

Could've walked her home.

Could've said literally anything.

Instead he'd hidden.

And now—

Now there would never be another chance.

A sound escaped him.

Small.

Broken.

Pathetic.

Leo covered his mouth immediately.

But it was too late.

Everything came crashing down.

His breathing became uneven.

Sharp.

Painful.

His vision blurred.

"No..."

His voice cracked.

"Please..."

The first sob tore itself out of him.

Violent.

Raw.

Leo doubled over.

One hand clutching his chest.

Like he could physically hold himself together.

Like his ribs might split open if he didn't.

Because this hurt.

God.

It hurt.

More than any injury.

More than any fight.

More than anything.

Footsteps approached behind him.

Leo didn't need to turn.

He knew.

Raph sat beside him.

Nothing more.

No speech.

No advice.

No lecture.

Just presence.

And somehow that made it worse.

Because Leo couldn't pretend anymore.

Another sob escaped him.

Then another.

Soon he couldn't stop.

Years of control shattered all at once.

"I can't..."

His voice broke.

"I can't, Raph."

The words barely existed.

Raph immediately pulled him into a hug.

And Leo broke completely.

Like a child.

Like someone who had lost everything.

Because maybe he had.

"I failed."

The words tumbled out between gasping breaths.

"I lost her."

Raph didn't argue.

Didn't tell him it wasn't his fault.

Didn't offer some comforting lie.

He just held him there.

And let him grieve.

---

They returned to the lair long after dark.

Leo barely remembered the trip.

When he entered, everyone was waiting.

Splinter.

Donnie.

Mikey.

The room went silent.

Mikey stood immediately.

Hope flickered across his face.

Like maybe he could help.

Like maybe he could say something.

Leo turned away before he could.

He couldn't survive another conversation.

Not tonight.

Not now.

Without a word he walked toward his room.

Nobody stopped him.

The silence followed him all the way there.

Leo opened the door.

And froze.

The room felt wrong.

Empty.

Cold.

Like someone had taken a piece of it with them.

His eyes drifted across the shelves.

The books.

The swords.

The chair she used to sit in.

The blanket she'd steel every time she sat on his bed.

Every corner held a memory.

For the first time since meeting her—

Leonardo could not feel Juliet anywhere.

The realization hit harder than the hospital.

Harder than Mercer's words.

Harder than the warehouse.

Because now there was no crisis.

No mission.

No enemy to fight.

Just absence.

And it was unbearable.

Leo's eyes drifted toward his desk.

Then stopped.

A folded piece of paper sat beside his books.

Waiting.

His breath caught.

Because he knew exactly who had left it there.

Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Chapter Text

Chapter 27 - Raph

Raph stood in the middle of the lair and watched Leo disappear down the hallway.

Nobody moved.

Nobody knew what to say.

The silence felt wrong.

Too heavy.

Too empty.

Mikey sat on the couch staring at the floor.

Donnie stood near his workstation but hadn't touched a keyboard.

Even Splinter remained quiet.

They were all hurting.

But Leo...

Leo was something else.

Raph had never seen him like that.

Not after Shredder.

Not after Karai.

Not after any fight they had ever lost.

Leo always carried everything.

The plans.

The responsibility.

The failures.

He carried it all so the rest of them didn't have to.

And now?

Now something had finally broken.

Raph rubbed a hand across his face.

He should've stopped it.

Months ago.

When he first noticed the way Leo looked at Jules.

When he noticed how Leo always volunteered to walk her across the rooftops.

How he'd wait outside her office every day.

How his eyes tracked her every time she entered a room.

Raph had warned him.

But warning him wasn't the same as helping him.

And now Jules was dead.

The thought still didn't feel real.

Raph swallowed hard.

He heard a crash upstairs.

Everyone looked up.

A second crash followed.

Much louder.

Then—

Wood splintering.

Glass shattering.

Something heavy hitting a wall.

Mikey jumped to his feet.

"Was that—"

Another crash.

Then another.

The entire ceiling seemed to shake.

Raph felt his stomach drop.

Leo.

The sounds kept coming.

Furniture breaking.

Objects hitting walls.

A roar of frustration echoed down the hallway.

Raph froze.

Because Leonardo never did this.

Never.

Raph was the hothead.

Raph punched walls.

Raph broke things.

Leo controlled things.

The realization hit him harder than any punch.

Leo wasn't angry.

He was grieving.

Nobody spoke.

They just listened.

Every crash somehow sounding worse than the last.

Eventually the destruction stopped.

The silence that followed felt even heavier.

Then footsteps.

Slow.

Deliberate.

The brothers turned toward the hallway.

Leo appeared.

His eyes were red.

His shoulders tense.

His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles looked ready to split.

He didn't look at any of them.

Didn't acknowledge anyone.

He simply walked toward the table.

When he reached it, he opened his hand.

A small object dropped onto the surface.

Click.

Raph looked down.

A USB drive.

Then Leo tossed something else beside it.

A crumpled piece of paper.

I'm sorry.

Then beneath it:

Let's talk ♥

Jules.

The handwriting hit harder than Raph expected.

The room went silent again.

Leo's breathing sounded rough.

Uneven.

Like every breath hurt.

Donnie looked at the USB.

His eyes widened slightly.

"The Velvet Room."

Nobody answered.

Leo finally spoke.

His voice was flat.

Empty.

"Whatever she found..."

He swallowed.

"...it's why they took her."

Raph looked up.

Leo was staring at the USB like it personally owed him answers.

Like it was the last thing Jules had touched.

The last thing she'd been fighting for.

The last thing she never got the chance to tell him.

For a moment Raph thought Leo might break again.

And suddenly Raph understood.

This wasn't about revenge.

Not yet.

This wasn't about killing Shredder.

This wasn't about making someone pay.

Leo needed answers.

Needed a reason.

Needed something to justify losing her.

Because if there wasn't a reason...

Then Jules had died for nothing.

And Leonardo would never survive that..

Raph looked at the USB sitting in the middle of the table.

Then at his brothers.

Comfort wasn't something Raph had ever been good at.

Never had been.

But hunting down the people responsible?

Finding answers?

Making sure nobody ever hurt his family again?

That was something Raph understood.

And for the first time since Mercer walked onto that rooftop...

Raph finally knew what came next.

The hunt had begun.

END PART I

Chapter 28: Part II : Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - Leo

Leo crouched silently in the shadows.

His breathing remained slow.

Controlled.

Measured.

The city stretched out around him, alive with distant sirens, traffic, and the occasional burst of laughter from people enjoying a life he hadn't thought about in months.

His eyes never left the building below.

A worn brick warehouse tucked between two abandoned factories.

The fourth one this month.

The eighteenth lead in nine months.

Five successful missions.

Two bodies.

And countless dead ends.

Not enough.

Never enough.

Leo shifted slightly, feeling the familiar ache in his shoulders from training earlier that morning.

Or yesterday morning.

The days blurred together now.

He could sense his brothers around him without looking.

Donnie perched on a water tower.

Mikey balanced on a rusted fire escape.

Raph hidden somewhere across the street.

Waiting.

Watching.

Ready.

The garage door below groaned open.

Leo's attention sharpened instantly.

A moving van backed inside.

Three men climbed out.

More emerged from the warehouse to meet them.

Leo watched carefully.

Patient.

One thing nine months had taught him was patience.

People got sloppy.

People talked.

People made mistakes.

You just had to wait long enough.

"Move these ones over here."

One of the men pointed toward the far side of the warehouse.

Another immediately shook his head.

"No. Near Asset Eight."

Leo's eyes narrowed.

There.

Confirmation.

Asset.

Not cargo.

Not supplies.

A person.

Leo lifted two fingers.

Across the rooftops, his brothers shifted instantly.

No words needed.

Nine months of hunting together had made communication nearly effortless.

Leo dropped first.

The others followed.

Four shadows descending from the darkness.

Their feet slammed against the pavement.

The men below barely had time to react.

"They're here!"

The warehouse exploded into chaos.

"Move!"

"Get the asset!"

"Get them out!"

Gunfire erupted from above.

Leo rolled beneath the spray of bullets.

Concrete exploded where he'd been standing moments earlier.

He surged forward.

One man raised a rifle.

Leo caught the barrel, twisted hard, and launched him into another attacker.

Both crashed into a stack of crates.

To his left, Mikey swept three men off their feet in one fluid motion.

Raph hit the side of the van hard enough to dent the metal.

Donnie disabled two shooters before they could reload.

They moved together.

Like pieces of the same machine.

No hesitation.

No wasted motion.

A dance perfected through years of fighting.

One man jumped into the driver's seat of the van.

The engine roared.

Leo barely glanced over.

The van lurched forward.

Then stopped abruptly.

Raph planted both hands against the rear doors and growled.

The tires spun uselessly against the pavement.

The driver looked genuinely terrified.

Good.

The fight ended quickly after that.

Most did these days.

The Foot wasn't prepared for how relentless the turtles had become.

Especially Leo.

Soon groans replaced shouting.

Bodies littered the warehouse floor.

The remaining conscious men were zip-tied and disarmed.

"Raph, contact Casey. Let him know we've got more."

Raph nodded.

"Mikey. One more sweep. Check for stragglers."

"Got it."

Leo stepped deeper into the building.

Something caught his attention.

A faint light.

Hidden behind a thick plastic curtain.

His stomach tightened immediately.

He already knew what he was going to find.

The question was never if.

Only who.

Leo pulled the curtain aside.

His chest sank.

A man was strapped to a tilted medical table.

Wires covered nearly every inch of visible skin.

Wires taped to his temples.

IV lines in both arms.

A breathing mask secured tightly over his mouth and nose.

Monitors emitted soft, rhythmic beeps throughout the room.

Alive.

Barely.

Donnie appeared beside him moments later.

His tablet was already scanning.

A few seconds passed.

"Jonathan Lewis. Twenty-five years old."

Donnie swallowed.

"Missing thirteen months."

Leo stared.

Twenty-five.

A year gone.

A year of someone's life stolen.

A year of questions.

He should have had an apartment.

Friends.

A career.

A future.

Instead he had this.

Machines.

Tubes.

A warehouse.

Leo felt anger flicker through him.

The familiar kind.

The one that never really left anymore.

He was young.

He would have been the same age as...

"Vitals are stable."

Donnie started disconnecting equipment carefully.

Stable.

That word meant something very different these days.

Casey's voice echoed from behind them.

"We've got transport."

Leo hadn't heard him arrive.

He stepped back out into the main warehouse.

Casey surveyed the scene.

"Thirteen Foot members."

His eyes shifted toward the hidden room.

"And another missing person."

Leo nodded.

"Mercer ready?"

"Vincent already has him prepping."

Good.

One more person saved.

One more reason to keep going.

Casey watched him quietly.

Leo noticed immediately.

"What?"

Casey hesitated.

"Vincent wants to talk to you."

"No."

Casey sighed.

"You can't avoid her forever."

"Watch me."

"Leo."

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose.

A habit he'd picked up from Donnie.

Or maybe from stress.

Probably stress.

"Fine."

Casey gave him a look.

"I'll talk to her."

The tension eased slightly.

"Good work tonight."

Leo glanced toward the ambulance where Jonathan Lewis was being loaded inside.

Good work.

Maybe.

Not enough.

Never enough.

Mikey shouted something celebratory from across the warehouse.

Raph immediately made fun of him.

Donnie complained about both of them.

The familiar sounds drifted through the night.

For a moment, Leo almost remembered what normal felt like.

Then the feeling vanished.

As he and his brothers disappeared back into the darkness, Leo looked once more at the warehouse.

At another piece of Helix.

Another piece of the Foot.

Another piece of the puzzle.

And somewhere out there...

Someone still had answers.

Leo intended to find them.

No matter how long it took.

Chapter 29: Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - Leo

"Thirty-three official arrests."

Chief Vincent looked down at the folder spread across her desk.

"Five missing persons recovered."

She flipped a page.

"Thousands of dollars worth of stolen medical equipment recovered."

Another page.

"And the Foot Clan retreating from multiple established locations."

She finally looked up.

Leo stood in the middle of her office.

Arms crossed.

Expression neutral.

It was late.

All their meetings were.

Fewer questions.

Fewer witnesses.

"It's good work," Vincent said.

"Thank you."

"It's work my officers should be doing."

Leo already knew where this conversation was headed.

They'd had it before.

Several times.

"Work you should be sharing with the NYPD."

"No."

Vincent sighed heavily.

"We can help you."

"No."

"Leonardo."

Her voice hardened.

"I can't keep letting you run around the city acting as judge, jury, and executioner."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Executioner?"

Vincent pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You know what I mean."

"There are rules."

"There is protocol."

"Exactly." Leo uncrossed his arms.

"That's exactly why this stays with my team."

Vincent stood.

"You don't get to decide that."

"Actually," Leo replied evenly, "I've been deciding it."

The room fell silent.

"We've recovered five missing people."

Vincent's jaw tightened.

"We've dismantled multiple Foot operations."

Silence.

"We've recovered evidence."

More silence.

"Have our results been unsatisfactory?"

"No."

"Have we severely harmed anyone apprehended?"

"No."

"Have we endangered civilians?"

"No."

"Then there isn't a problem."

"I disagree."

Chief Vincent stared at him.

Leo respected her.

He genuinely did.

She was competent.

Smart.

Determined.

One of the few people in law enforcement he trusted.

Which was exactly why she couldn't be involved.

"Chief."

Leo's voice softened slightly.

"I respect you."

Vincent's expression shifted.

"But this isn't something your officers can handle."

"We're trained."

"So are they."

The words hung between them.

The Foot.

Helix.

Whatever was left hiding underneath both.

"We run the operations."

Leo crossed his arms again.

"You take them into custody."

"That's the role the NYPD gets to play."

Vincent looked like she wanted to argue.

Instead she sat back down.

"How did you get this lead?"

Leo froze.

Only for a second.

A second nobody else would notice.

His mind immediately betrayed him.

A laugh.

A smile.

Messy handwriting.

Blood.

His stomach tightened.

"A reliable source."

Vincent studied him.

Clearly not buying it.

"I don't suppose this source has any information about what Helix was doing to the captives?"

Leo looked away briefly.

Five recovered.

Two dead.

Three alive.

Jonathan Lewis made four.

And none of them had answers.

Only symptoms.

Memory loss.

Migraines.

Confusion.

Nightmares.

A complete inability to explain what happened to them.

Months of missing time.

Gone.

Like someone had scooped pieces of their minds out and left the rest behind.

Leo hated it.

He hated unanswered questions.

He hated puzzles.

He hated mysteries.

Mostly because she had loved them...

And now every answer felt like it belonged to her.

"No."

Vincent sighed.

"You are doing good work."

The words sounded genuine this time.

"I just don't want you losing yourselves along the way."

Leo understood exactly what she meant.

She wasn't talking about the investigation.

She was talking about him.

"I'll call when we find the next one."

Vincent looked like she wanted to say more.

Instead she nodded.

Leo turned and left.

---

The lair was louder than usual when he got back.

A welcome change.

For everyone except Leo.

"Alright!" Mikey announced dramatically.

"I'm thinking pizza followed by Galactic Raiders."

"You're always thinking Galactic Raiders."

Donnie didn't even look up from his tablet.

"That is slander."

"It's literally not."

Mikey threw something at his head.

"What did Vincent want?" Raph asked.

Leo sat down briefly.

"The usual."

Raph groaned.

"Still thinks the NYPD can help?"

"Yep."

"I'm guessing you said no."

Leo looked at him.

"Got it."

Donnie finally looked up.

"Did you tell her about the possibility of a leak?"

Leo immediately gave him the same look.

Donnie sighed.

"We've talked about this."

"Yes."

"And?"

"And I still think Vincent can be trusted."

Leo rubbed his forehead.

"We've been over this."

"Because you're paranoid."

"Because I'm careful."

"Same thing."

Before Leo could respond, Mikey spoke.

"I'm with Leo."

The room went silent.

All three brothers looked at him.

Mikey shrugged.

"What?"

Raph blinked.

"You're with Leo?"

"Yeah."

"Since when?"

Mikey scratched the back of his head.

"I've been thinking about it."

Nobody said anything.

Which immediately made Mikey uncomfortable.

"So the information we've been finding has a lot of roads attached to it."

Still silence.

"And if one of those roads leads back to law enforcement..."

His voice grew quieter.

"...then maybe we shouldn't tell them everything."

Donnie frowned.

"You think Vincent's involved?"

"No."

Mikey shook his head.

"I think Jules trusted people too."

The room immediately froze.

Leo's stomach dropped.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Jules.

The name felt foreign.

Like something nobody was supposed to say anymore.

Mikey shifted awkwardly.

"She got betrayed by people she trusted."

His voice had gone softer now.

"And I just think... maybe we should be careful."

Silence.

Long silence.

Finally Raph nodded.

"Okay."

Donnie looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Really."

Donnie considered it.

Then sighed.

"Fine."

Mikey immediately brightened.

"Great! Pizza?"

Nobody answered.

"Guys."

Still nothing.

"Guys."

Leo stood.

"I'm not hungry."

Leo didn't wait for a response.

He was already walking away.

Already climbing the stairs.

Already closing his door.

---

The room felt too quiet.

It always did.

The mission had gone well.

The lead was solid.

Another victim recovered.

Another step forward.

Everything was working.

So why did it still feel empty?

Leo sat on the edge of his bed.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Then reached for the katana resting beside him.

His right sword.

The one he never let out of reach.

Leo carefully unwrapped the cloth wound around the handle.

A small folded piece of paper slipped free.

He caught it before it hit the floor.

For a long moment he just stared at it.

The handwriting had become familiar.

Painfully familiar.

I'm sorry.

Let's talk ♡

The note was worn now.

The edges soft.

The fold lines permanent.

Leo had read it hundreds of times.

Maybe thousands.

His thumb brushed over the heart.

He remembered finding it.

Remembered realizing what it meant.

Remembered the last time he'd seen her handwriting.

The last time he'd heard her voice.

The last time she'd looked at him.

Leo lowered his head.

"I'm trying."

The words barely existed.

Just a whisper.

A confession.

A prayer.

"I'm trying."

Trying to move forward.

Trying to lead.

Trying to keep his brothers together.

Trying to find answers.

Trying to finish what she started.

Trying to be the person she thought he was.

The sad part was...

Leo really was trying.

Every single day.

But no matter how many people they rescued...

No matter how many Foot soldiers they arrested...

No matter how many leads they followed...

He still woke up every morning with the same feeling.

Like he'd left something unfinished.

Like he'd failed.

And deep down...

He knew it was his fault.

Chapter 30: Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 - Mikey

Mikey woke up and stretched dramatically.

Every muscle in his body complained from yesterday's mission.

A good sign.

That meant they were doing something.

Making progress.

Actually helping people.

For the first time in months it felt like they were getting somewhere.

Three rescued.

Multiple Helix facilities shut down.

More leads than ever before.

Maybe they were finally getting close.

Mikey rolled out of bed and wandered downstairs in search of breakfast.

Halfway to the kitchen he heard it.

Thud.

The unmistakable sound of someone hitting a punching bag.

Mikey changed directions immediately.

The training room came into view.

And there was Leo.

Of course.

His oldest brother stood in front of a heavy bag, sweat already dripping from his forehead.

His movements were sharp.

Precise.

Perfect.

The kind of form Splinter would've praised.

Yet Leo kept repeating the same combination.

Again.

Like he was trying to beat something into submission.

Or beat something out of himself.

"Hey."

Leo didn't stop.

"How long have you been up?"

"Not long."

Lie.

Mikey could tell immediately.

The damp towel tossed in the corner.

The empty water bottle.

The second punching bag already lying on the floor.

Leo had been here awhile.

"You should take a break."

"No need."

Thud.

The bag swayed violently.

Mikey watched quietly.

Leo had always trained.

All of them did.

But this wasn't training anymore.

This was something else.

Something harder.

Something desperate.

"You know..." Mikey started carefully.

Leo didn't respond.

"You can always talk to me."

"I know."

The answer came instantly.

Too instantly.

Like he'd rehearsed it.

Leo hit the bag harder.

The chains rattled overhead.

Mikey swallowed.

"I miss her too."

The words hung in the room.

Leo's fist connected with the bag.

The impact sounded wrong.

A loud crack echoed through the training area.

The chain snapped.

The entire bag crashed to the floor.

Silence.

Leo stood there breathing heavily.

His shoulders tense.

His fists clenched.

Mikey immediately regretted saying it.

Not because it wasn't true.

Because it was.

And because Leo clearly wasn't ready to hear it.

"I'm here if you want to—"

"I don't."

Leo cut him off.

Not angry.

Not even harsh.

Just exhausted.

"I'm fine."

The words sounded automatic.

Like he said them twenty times a day.

Leo walked past the fallen bag and moved toward another station.

Already preparing to continue.

Already refusing to stop.

"I have to train."

Mikey watched him go.

That was the thing.

Leo never stopped.

Not anymore.

Training.

Investigating.

Planning.

Patrolling.

Training again.

Like if he kept moving long enough he wouldn't have to think.

Everyone said he was doing better.

Mikey wasn't so sure.

Because Mikey noticed things.

Like the mug.

The ugly blue coffee mug Jules used whenever she stayed over.

Every now and then Leo would walk into the kitchen.

See it.

Pause.

Just for a second.

Then keep moving like nothing happened.

Mikey noticed the way Leo smiled during movies but never laughed.

The way he skipped meals.

The way he stopped reading for fun.

The way he always looked tired.

One night, a few months after it happened, Mikey found him asleep at his desk.

Files covered every surface.

Photos.

Names.

Helix reports.

Missing persons.

Leo had fallen asleep right on the papers.

In one hand was a pen.

In the other...

Jules' note.

The paper looked worn from being unfolded and refolded a hundred times.

Mikey never told anyone.

It felt private.

Like something he wasn't supposed to see.

His brothers noticed Leo working harder.

Mikey noticed Leo hurting.

There was a difference.

Eventually Mikey made his way into the kitchen.

If Leo was in one of these moods maybe food would help.

Food helped almost everything.

Today he made Leo's favorite.

By the time breakfast was ready Donnie and Raph had wandered in.

Leo followed shortly after.

Mikey pointed proudly at the table.

"Breakfast!"

Leo glanced at it.

"I'm not hungry."

Mikey expected that answer.

"Aww come on."

"Really."

"I made your favorite."

"I'm good."

"PLEEEEEEASE."

Mikey deployed his strongest puppy eyes.

Raph immediately groaned.

Leo stared at him.

Then sighed.

"Fine."

Victory.

"A small plate."

Mikey grinned.

He'd take whatever wins he could get.

Breakfast passed mostly in silence.

Then the second Leo finished eating he stood.

"We should check the next lead."

Mikey immediately shook his head.

"Nope."

Leo frowned.

"What?"

"We just finished a mission."

"We can't stop."

"We absolutely can," Raph said.

Leo crossed his arms.

"We can't let them recover."

"We've got plans tonight," Donnie reminded him.

"April's dinner thing," Mikey added.

"And Casey wants help fixing that car he bought."

Donnie nodded.

"We promised."

Leo's expression hardened.

For a moment Mikey thought he might argue.

Instead—

"Fine."

The single word carried enough frustration for an entire paragraph.

Mikey exchanged a glance with Donnie.

They both knew.

The second Leo left the table he'd go right back to the case.

Mikey wasn't sure his brother had taken a real day off since...

Well.

Since.

"You can come do pottery with me and Splinter."

"No thanks."

"We're trying Mishima pottery."

"No thanks."

"Come on. It'll be fun."

Leo actually smiled.

Tiny.

Barely there.

But Mikey caught it.

"I'll pass."

Then he stood.

"Thanks for breakfast."

And left.

The smile vanished before he reached the doorway.

Hours later Mikey sat beside Splinter shaping clay.

Pottery had become their thing.

Their weekly father-son time.

No missions.

No fighting.

No Foot Clan.

Just clay.

"You are awfully quiet today."

Mikey stared at the bowl he was shaping.

"Yeah."

Splinter waited patiently.

"I think I pushed too hard with Leo."

"How so?"

"I mentioned Juliet."

Splinter nodded slightly.

"Last night. Then again this morning."

Mikey sighed.

"I don't even know the last time he's heard her name."

Splinter continued smoothing the clay beneath his hands.

Listening.

Just listening.

Mikey appreciated that.

"I want to help him."

The words came out quieter.

"He keeps acting like he's okay."

His hands stopped moving.

"He keeps acting like the only thing that matters is this mission."

Splinter remained silent.

"Donnie's getting better."

Mikey pressed his thumb into the clay.

"Raph's getting better."

He swallowed.

"But Leo isn't."

The realization hurt.

Because it was true.

"I don't know how to help him."

His voice cracked slightly.

"I want to."

Splinter finally spoke.

"Grief is a difficult burden."

Mikey nodded.

"And your brother carries guilt alongside it."

"I know."

Mikey's response came immediately.

"But it wasn't his fault."

The words escaped before he could stop them.

"He thinks it was because of that stupid fight they had, which he won't even tell us about."

Mikey looked down.

"He thinks if he'd done something different she'd still be here."

His throat tightened.

"But that's not why she..."

The words refused to come out.

Even now.

Nine months later.

It still hurt.

Mikey missed Jules.

Her terrible coffee addiction.

The way she'd laugh at his jokes when nobody else would.

The way she'd make fun of Leo.

The way she'd fit into their family so naturally.

But lately...

Mikey missed Leo too.

The real Leo.

The one who laughed.

The one who read books.

The one who watched movies without staring through the screen.

The one who wasn't trying to carry the world by himself.

"Your brother may simply need more time," Splinter said gently.

"Yeah."

Maybe.

Mikey hoped so.

Because he didn't know what else to do.

Splinter smiled slightly.

"You care deeply for your family, Michelangelo."

Mikey looked down at the misshapen bowl in front of him.

"Yeah well..." he shrugged. "Somebody has to make all the food."

A small smile touched Splinter's face.

"You do much more than that."

Mikey smiled.

He might not know how to fix this.

He might not know how to pull Leo out of whatever hole he'd buried himself in.

But he knew one thing.

Whenever Leo finally got tired of carrying it alone...

Mikey would be there.

Waiting.

Chapter 31: Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - Donnie

Donnie knew Leo hadn't healed.

The others thought he was getting better.

They were wrong.

Donnie knew because patterns were his thing.

And Leo had become one.

Every morning.

Same time.

Same footsteps.

Same training room.

Same exhausted look he tried to hide.

Every day Leo pushed himself harder.

Every day he slept less.

Every day he became a little quieter.

Most people would have missed it.

Donnie didn't.

Because patterns were easy.

People were hard.

And Leo was becoming painfully predictable.

Donnie glanced toward the training room from his workstation.

Sure enough.

The rhythmic sound of a punching bag echoed through the lair.

Again.

Donnie looked back at the dozens of files spread across his monitors.

Victim reports.

Recovery reports.

Missing persons.

Recovered assets.

Everything they had found over the last several months.

The Foot had lost warehouses.

Vehicles.

Supply routes.

Money.

But one question remained unanswered.

Why these people?

Donnie tapped his pen against the desk.

Jonathan Lewis.

Twenty-five.

Missing thirteen months.

Recovered last week.

The woman from Queens.

Missing sixteen months.

Recovered two months ago.

The teenager from Brooklyn.

Missing eleven months.

Dead before they found him.

Different ages.

Different jobs.

Different cities.

Different backgrounds.

Nothing connected them.

Nothing except Helix.

Donnie sighed.

There was something here.

He knew it.

He just couldn't see it.

His eyes drifted toward the USB drive sitting beside his keyboard.

The drive Jules had stolen.

The drive that had started everything.

The drive that had gotten her killed.

A familiar knot twisted in his stomach.

Donnie looked away.

Focus.

The answer was here somewhere.

He reopened one of the archived Helix files.

Medical records.

Blood work.

Screenings.

Pages and pages of information.

Most of it made no sense.

Then a memory surfaced.

Jules sitting in the workshop months ago.

Talking while Donnie worked.

"You know that doctor I talked to? Margo?"

Not really.

"She's scary smart."

That had made him look up.

"Scarier than you?"

"Let's not get carried away."

Donnie found himself smiling slightly.

Then he froze.

Margo.

Marjorie Bennett.

Biologist.

Research scientist.

Maybe...

He grabbed his phone.

---

The call connected after three rings.

"Hello?"

The voice sounded tired.

Donnie sat up straighter.

"Uh... hi. Dr. Marjorie Bennett?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Don..." trying to be subtle and not give away his identity.

Pause.

"...Okay."

Donnie cringed.

Right.

She will still probably need a little more than that.

"I'm a friend of Juliet Montgomery."

"Oh, Jules."

Her voice softened immediately.

"How is she?"

Donnie swallowed.

His eyes drifted to the USB drive.

To the stack of files.

To everything Jules had left behind.

How is she?

He hadn't prepared for that.

"She..."

His voice stalled.

"She passed away several months ago."

Silence.

A long silence.

"Oh."

Margo's voice became quieter.

Just one word.

Quiet.

Broken.

Donnie suddenly wished he hadn't been the one to say it.

"I'm sorry," Margo said finally.

"Me too."

Neither spoke for a moment.

Eventually Donnie cleared his throat.

"Actually, I was calling because Jules once mentioned you helped her understand some medical equipment."

Donnie pulled up one of the Helix files.

"I found repeated references to these codes on this... project I'm working on. It appears in every file. I was wondering if you could help me decipher it?"

Margo immediately sounded interested.

"What's the code?"

Donnie read the designation.

The line went quiet.

Then:

"That's strange."

"Why?"

"Because that's a genetic marker."

Donnie frowned.

"What is it?"

"It's a compatibility marker."

Donnie straightened.

"What does that mean?"

"Usually it means someone is genetically predisposed to respond to a treatment."

His fingers froze over the keyboard.

"A treatment."

"Or therapy. Or experimental procedures."

Donnie's eyes widened.

Experimental procedures.

Not random.

Selected.

Chosen.

"Margo," he said carefully. "Would everyone have that marker?"

"No."

"Rare?"

"Very."

His heart started beating faster.

"How rare?"

"Maybe one percent of the population."

Donnie immediately opened another file.

Then another.

Every victim.

Every single one.

The marker was there.

All of them.

Including—

Donnie stopped.

A familiar name sat buried inside one of the records.

Juliet Montgomery.

His stomach dropped.

Jules had the marker too.

---

After ending the call, Donnie sat motionless for several seconds.

Then he started digging.

Fast.

Now he had something to search for.

Not names.

Not locations.

Not occupations.

The marker.

Where did Helix get the data?

He cross-referenced every victim again.

Medical records.

State records.

Hospital records.

Anything.

Then suddenly—

A pattern appeared.

Donnie sat forward.

No way.

He checked another victim.

Then another.

Every single one.

The same thing.

Not the same hospital.

Not the same doctor.

The same screening network.

With programs for foster care.

Juvenile detention.

Rehabilitation centers.

State assistance programs.

Places where mandatory medical screenings occurred.

Places where blood samples were collected.

Helix hadn't found these people.

Helix already had them.

For years.

The realization sent a chill through him.

They'd built a list.

---

An hour later Donnie found Leo in the command center.

His older brother was already reviewing mission reports.

Of course he was.

Donnie dropped several files onto the table.

Leo immediately looked up.

"What did you find?"

Donnie pointed at the reports.

"They all have the same genetic marker."

Leo frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It means they weren't chosen randomly."

That got everyone's attention.

Raph looked up from across the room.

Mikey stopped talking.

Donnie continued.

"They all carry a rare compatibility marker."

Leo's expression darkened.

Donnie watched him carefully.

Then added:

"Jules had it too."

The room fell silent.

Leo didn't move.

Didn't speak.

But something hardened behind his eyes.

Donnie almost wished he hadn't said it.

Almost.

Because they needed the truth.

No matter how ugly it was.

"What else?" Leo asked quietly.

Donnie pulled up another screen.

"They all passed through the same medical screening network."

Now Leo stood.

"Meaning?"

Donnie turned the monitor toward them.

"I think Helix built a database."

The room went silent.

"They knew exactly who they wanted before anyone disappeared."

Even Mikey looked unsettled by that.

"Can you track it?" Leo asked.

Donnie nodded.

"I already started."

He pulled up a map.

Several old properties appeared.

Most were abandoned.

But one location remained active.

A warehouse on the edge of the city.

One connected directly to the compatibility program.

Leo stared at the screen.

Then looked up.

The exhaustion vanished from his face.

Replaced by something sharper.

More dangerous.

"Call Casey."

Raph grinned immediately.

Donnie closed the file.

Then Leo stood.

And for the first time all day Donnie felt hopeful.

Because this wasn't a random lead.

This was real.

This was something.

Leo looked around at all of them.

"Let's move."

Chapter 32: Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 - Raph

Raph stood beside the van with Casey, waiting for Donnie to finish whatever last-minute preparation he was doing.

Across the garage, Leo reviewed the mission plan.

Again.

And again.

Raph wasn't even sure he was reading anymore.

Just looking.

Checking.

Rechecking.

Searching for something nobody else could find.

Casey followed his gaze.

"So how is he?"

Raph already knew who he meant.

Leo.

Raph crossed his arms.

"He's fine."

Casey gave him a look.

One of those looks that said he didn't believe a word coming out of Raph's mouth.

Not because he knew Raph was lying.

Because he knew Raph was protecting him.

"You sure?" Casey asked. "He seems a little..."

He trailed off.

"He'll be fine," Raph cut in.

Maybe if enough people said it, eventually it would be true.

Casey leaned against the van.

"Maybe you should talk to him."

Raph looked away.

Everyone wanted to talk to Leo.

April.

Mikey.

Splinter.

Casey.

Hell, probably Donnie too.

Everyone wanted to help.

Everyone wanted him to open up.

But none of them understood.

Raph wasn't sure Leo understood.

He remembered the way Leo had looked after Jules died.

The way he had broken apart on that rooftop.

The way he had cried into Raph's shoulder like a kid.

Nobody else had seen that.

Nobody else had seen how deep it went.

How much she had meant to him.

Maybe not even Leo.

So Raph did the only thing he knew how to do.

He played defense.

He blocked questions.

He redirected conversations.

He told everyone Leo was getting better.

Even when he wasn't sure he believed it himself.

Casey sighed.

Before he could say anything else, Leo called out.

"Load up."

The conversation died immediately.

Business.

Something Leo was still good at.

The plan was simple.

Leo, Don, and Mikey would hit the warehouse from the front.

Raph and Casey would circle around the rear exits.

Cut off any runners.

Secure any evidence.

Then they would question whoever was left standing.

Hopefully somebody higher up than the usual Foot soldiers they had been catching lately.

The warehouse sat near the edge of the shipping district.

A large cross-docking facility.

Cargo came in.

Cargo went out.

Nothing stayed long.

Perfect for Helix.

Perfect for the Foot.

Raph crouched on a rooftop across the street beside Casey.

Below them, workers moved around loading trucks and checking manifests.

Everything looked ordinary.

Which usually meant it wasn't.

Then Leo gave the signal.

Raph grinned.

"Showtime."

They dropped.

The fight exploded instantly.

Shouts.

Gunfire.

Breaking glass.

The familiar chaos of combat.

Raph plowed through two Foot soldiers before either had time to react.

Casey wasn't far behind.

One unlucky guy took a hockey stick directly to the chest.

The fight spread through the warehouse.

Leo and the others pushed deeper inside.

Raph and Casey held the rear exits.

One Foot soldier tried to run.

Raph caught him by the back of the shirt and launched him into a stack of crates.

The man disappeared in an avalanche of cardboard.

Raph winced.

"Okay maybe that one was a little hard."

"Little?" Casey shouted.

Raph grinned.

Then his eyes drifted toward Leo.

The grin faded.

Because six months ago Leo would've said something.

Slow down.

Think first.

Be careful.

Now?

Leo hit harder than any of them.

The fight continued.

Then suddenly—

"Release it!"

The shout echoed through the warehouse.

Raph's stomach dropped.

A familiar roar answered.

Loud.

Angry.

Animal.

The tiger.

"Great," Casey muttered.

Chaos erupted again.

Leo immediately started barking orders.

The brothers spread out.

Trying to contain the beast.

Trying to contain the Foot.

Trying to contain everything.

Then gunfire erupted.

One of the Foot soldiers fired wildly.

The shot missed.

But it hit something else.

A gas line.

Near industrial heating equipment.

Raph saw it too late.

The fire spread.

Fast.

Casey was too close.

Without thinking, Raph tackled him.

The explosion hit a second later.

The blast shook the entire warehouse.

Heat washed over them.

Part of the wall collapsed.

The ceiling groaned overhead.

Alarms immediately started screaming.

Red lights began flashing.

Dust filled the air.

Somewhere across the warehouse the tiger roared again.

The side Leo and the others occupied.

Raph pushed himself up.

"You alive?"

Casey coughed.

"Barely."

More shouting echoed through the facility.

Foot reinforcements.

Too many.

A helicopter passed overhead outside.

Things were getting ugly.

Fast.

"We need to go," Casey said.

For once, Raph agreed.

They retreated down a side corridor.

Foot soldiers appeared ahead.

Too many to fight through quickly.

"This way."

They ducked through a loading area.

Casey shoved a heavy door closed behind them.

Raph helped him barricade the door.

The pounding started almost immediately.

The Foot had found them.

Raph scanned the room.

Looking for another exit.

Then he noticed something.

A plastic curtain.

Beyond it.

Faint.

Almost lost beneath the alarms.

A soft electronic sound.

Beep.

"What are you doing?" Casey asked.

Raph didn't answer.

He moved toward the curtain.

Pulled it aside.

And froze.

For a moment he thought he was seeing things.

The alarms faded into the background.

The pounding on the door disappeared.

Casey stepped beside him.

"What is—"

The rest of the sentence died immediately.

Silence.

Raph couldn't look away.

His mind raced trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

No.

That wasn't possible.

Another violent bang rattled the loading door.

Neither of them moved.

Neither seemed capable of moving.

"Raph!" Leo's voice crackled through the communicator.

"Retreat! Now!"

Raph barely heard him.

His eyes remained fixed on the room beyond the curtain.

Every instinct screamed that they needed to leave.

Every second they stayed increased the chances of getting caught.

But for the first time all night—

The mission didn't matter.

Another bang echoed through the warehouse.

Casey finally looked away.

Then looked at Raph.

"What do we do?"

Raph swallowed hard.

He already knew.

The moment he saw—

the mission was over.

"Raph!" Leo shouted again.

This time Raph reached up to his communicator.

His thumb hovered over the switch.

"Sorry, Leo."

Then he shut it off.

Chapter 33: Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 - Leo

He hung up on him.

Raph hung up on him.

The building blew up.

Donnie's scanner was destroyed.

They got ambushed by that damn tiger again.

And Raph hung up on him.

Leo was furious.

His shoulder throbbed from where the tiger had slammed him through a concrete wall.

His ribs ached.

His entire body felt like it had been dragged through a warzone.

And after all of it—

Raph ignored a direct order.

Raph.

Maybe he was just as angry as Leo was.

Maybe he needed time to cool off.

Leo tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

So he waited.

He, Mikey, and Donnie sat at the rendezvous point in silence.

"That sucked," Mikey finally said.

"No kidding," Donnie muttered.

"We haven't had our asses handed to us like that in a while."

"Maybe it was good for us," Mikey continued. "Maybe we were getting cocky."

Leo and Donnie both looked at him.

Mikey shrugged.

"What? Just trying to find the silver lining."

Nobody responded.

Then they waited.

And waited.

Still no Raph.

Still no Casey.

Leo started pacing.

His patience was disappearing fast.

"He should've been here by now."

"Maybe they got lost?" Mikey offered.

Leo shot him a look.

Mikey wisely stopped talking.

Nearly thirty minutes later they finally heard an engine approaching through the hidden access tunnel leading into the lair.

Leo immediately turned.

Finally.

The van rolled to a stop.

Raph stepped out of the passenger side.

Leo was moving before the engine was even off.

"Where have you been?"

Raph didn't answer.

"What happened?"

Still nothing.

Raph simply walked around the side of the vehicle.

Leo's anger flared hotter.

"What is this?" he snapped. "You stole a van?"

"We had limited options," Raph said.

Casey climbed out behind him.

"Limited options?" Leo repeated. "The option was retreat! What were you doing?"

Raph finally looked at him.

"Will you shut up for like two seconds?"

"No! You disobeyed a direct order! You—"

Raph yanked open the back doors.

The words died in Leo's throat.

The interior wasn't full of stolen cargo.

Or weapons.

Or evidence.

Machines filled the space.

Medical monitors.

IV bags.

Portable oxygen tanks.

Wires.

Cables.

Equipment.

All surrounding a single medical bed.

And on that bed—

A body.

Leo stopped moving.

Stopped breathing.

Stopped thinking.

No.

No no no—

His eyes moved slowly across the figure.

The grey clothes.

The oxygen mask.

The IV lines.

The monitors.

Then her face.

The world tilted.

Nine months.

Nine months since he watched her die.

Nine months since she bled out in his arms.

Nine months since Leo lost everything.

Leo's knees nearly gave out.

His hand shot out and grabbed the metal frame of the van.

The entire thing rattled beneath his grip.

For a terrifying second he thought he might collapse.

His shoulder screamed.

His ribs burned.

His chest felt like it was being crushed.

Somewhere behind him he heard Mikey whisper—

"Holy shit..."

The words sounded distant.

Muted.

Leo stepped into the van.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Like one wrong movement would make everything disappear.

Her face looked thinner.

Her cheeks sunken.

Dark circles beneath closed eyes.

Her body had lost weight.

But her hair was the same.

Her nose.

Her jaw.

Her freckles.

God.

It was her.

No.

It couldn't be.

He watched her die.

He held her while she died.

He mourned her.

They all did.

This wasn't possible.

His hand trembled as he reached forward.

Almost afraid to touch her.

Afraid she would vanish.

His fingers brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.

Warm.

Leo froze.

Warm.

Not a dream.

Not a memory.

Warm.

He stared at her.

Then at his hand.

Then back at her.

His breathing started coming faster.

Unsteady.

Shaky.

Get control.

His eyes locked onto the slow rise and fall of her chest.

Breathing.

She was breathing.

Alive.

How?

How was she alive?

Leo became vaguely aware of everyone staring at him.

Waiting.

Watching.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

He needed proof.

Something his brain couldn't argue with.

Slowly his hand moved to the hem of her shirt.

His fingers lingered there.

Then he carefully lifted the fabric.

All the air left his lungs.

The scar stretched across nearly the entirety of her stomach.

Dark pink.

Raised.

Brutal.

The exact path of Shredder's blades.

Proof.

Real.

Undeniable.

Leo stared.

His vision blurred.

Because he remembered that wound.

Remembered pressing his hands against it.

Remembered the blood.

Remembered begging her not to leave him.

And now the scar sat in front of him.

Healed.

She survived.

A strange sound escaped him.

Half laugh.

Half gasp.

Then his expression hardened.

Because suddenly his brain started moving again.

She was stabbed.

Confirmed.

Taken to the hospital.

Confirmed.

Mercer operated on her.

Confirmed.

Then—

Mercer told them she died.

Mercer.

A cold fury settled into Leo's bones.

Mercer.

Nine months.

Nine months she had been alive.

Nine months.

And Leo never looked.

Never searched.

Never questioned it.

Because Mercer told them she was dead.

Leo slowly looked up.

His brothers were watching him.

Waiting.

Confused.

Hopeful.

Terrified.

The rage building inside him felt endless.

"Donnie."

Donnie straightened immediately.

"Run a full workup."

"What?"

"Everything."

Leo's voice was ice.

"Bloodwork. Scans. Toxicology. Every machine we have."

Donnie nodded.

"Casey."

Casey looked up.

"Contact April."

Casey nodded.

"And April only."

"Okay."

"Mikey."

Mikey immediately stepped closer.

Leo finally looked at him.

"Do not leave her side."

Mikey swallowed.

Then nodded.

"I won't."

"Raph."

Raph already knew.

Leo could see it on his face.

"With me."

Leo stepped out of the van.

Raph immediately fell in beside him.

"Where are you going?" Mikey asked.

Leo didn't slow.

His fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.

His jaw tightened.

Every step felt heavier than the last.

Mercer had lied.

Mercer had looked them in the eye and lied.

For nine months.

Leo's eyes darkened.

"To pay a friend a visit."

Chapter 34: Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 - Leo

Rain hammered against the windows.

Leo stood across the street watching Mercer move around his office.

Lightning flashed overhead.

For a moment the entire building glowed white.

Then darkness swallowed it again.

Mercer paced behind his desk.

Picked up a folder.

Set it down.

Checked his phone.

Moved to the window.

Back to the desk.

Nervous.

Good.

Leo hoped he was nervous.

He hoped whoever Mercer answered to had already informed him that they lost her.

That the asset they had hidden for nine months had somehow slipped through their fingers.

Mercer had been assigned every recovered victim.

Every single one.

He performed their examinations.

Reviewed their bloodwork.

Read their scans.

And somehow he never found anything.

Never found the source of the headaches.

Never found the neurological damage.

Never found evidence of what Helix was doing.

Now Leo knew why.

Because Mercer wasn't missing the clues.

He was hiding them.

The realization made Leo's jaw tighten.

Beside him, Raph remained silent.

Watching.

Waiting.

Leo had chosen Raph for a reason.

Donnie would want answers.

Mikey would want justice.

But Raph?

Raph understood anger.

Sometimes he understood it better than anyone.

Leo saw Mercer lift his phone.

Leo sent a look to Raph.

Raph nodded.

The brothers disappeared into the storm.

A moment later they slipped through an unlocked window.

Mercer stood with his back turned.

"...What!? No, get everything out of there!"

His voice cracked.

"Then burn it! I don't care, just don't let them—"

Mercer turned.

The phone slipped from his hand.

It hit the floor with a sharp crack.

His face drained of color.

"Ah..."

He forced a smile.

"Gentlemen."

Liar.

The word echoed through Leo's head.

Liar.

"What can I do for—"

Mercer stopped.

Because Leo had already started walking toward him.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Predatory.

The doctor swallowed.

"Quite a storm tonight, isn't—"

Leo grabbed him by the throat.

Mercer's back slammed into the wall hard enough to rattle framed certificates.

The doctor's feet left the floor.

His hands immediately clawed at Leo's wrist.

Trying desperately to breathe.

Leo stared into his eyes.

Mercer's fear was obvious now.

Good.

Very good.

"You lied."

Mercer's face reddened.

Leo tightened his grip.

"You looked us in the eye."

Tighter.

"You told us she died."

Mercer wheezed.

Raph moved closer.

Not stopping him.

Just watching.

Ready.

In case Leo crossed a line.

Leo wasn't sure if he cared anymore.

Nine months.

Nine months she suffered while he mourned her.

Mercer's fingers dug into his wrist.

"She's alive because of me," he gasped.

The words hit Leo like a bucket of ice water.

His grip loosened slightly.

Mercer sucked in a desperate breath.

"If it wasn't for me she'd be dead."

Leo stared.

Mercer saw it.

Saw the hesitation.

And immediately pushed harder.

"Would you really kill the man who saved her?"

Leo's expression darkened.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Rain tapped softly against the windows.

Then Leo leaned closer.

"I'd kill the man who gave her to them."

Mercer's expression faltered.

"The man who watched what they did to her."

Leo's voice remained terrifyingly calm.

"The man who lied to my family."

Mercer stopped struggling.

"The man who stood there and told us she was dead."

A flicker of guilt crossed Mercer's face.

Leo saw it.

And hated him even more for it.

"So don't stand there and pretend you're her savior."

Mercer's eyes widened slightly.

"Because if she survived..."

Leo's grip tightened just enough to make Mercer wince.

"It wasn't because of you."

Silence filled the office.

Rain pounded against the windows.

Mercer looked between Leo and Raph.

Calculating.

Searching.

Looking for a way out.

"I can help you..." he choked out.

"I know what they did."

His voice pushing out the last of his air.

Leo's patience snapped.

He dropped Mercer to the floor.

The doctor collapsed coughing violently.

"Talk."

Mercer rubbed his throat.

Still breathing hard.

"The gene."

Leo's eyes narrowed.

"What gene?"

"The marker."

Mercer slowly pushed himself upright.

"The one they all have."

Raph and Leo exchanged a glance.

The missing people.

The rescued victims.

Jules.

All of them.

"The one Helix screened for."

Mercer coughed again.

"They weren't random selections."

Leo took a step forward.

"What is it for?"

Mercer's eyes flickered.

Fear.

Real fear.

"They call it Phase One."

Leo felt his pulse quicken.

"What phases?"

Mercer hesitated.

Then spoke quietly.

"The infiltration program."

The room went silent.

Leo stared.

"What does that mean?"

Mercer laughed nervously.

A broken sound.

"Your girl..."

His eyes flickered toward the floor.

"She made it to Phase Three."

The words landed like a punch.

Leo felt something cold settle in his stomach.

"What does Phase Three mean?"

Mercer shook his head.

"You don't understand what they were building."

"Then explain it."

Mercer looked at him.

Really looked at him.

Then suddenly his eyes shifted.

Not toward Leo.

Toward his desk.

Raph saw it too.

"Leo—"

Too late.

Mercer slammed his hand onto a hidden button beneath the desk.

The floor exploded with electricity.

Pain shot through Leo instantly.

Every muscle seized.

His vision flashed white.

The smell of burning filled the room.

He hit the floor hard.

Somewhere nearby Raph shouted.

Then the current stopped.

Leo gasped.

His entire body trembled.

His nose was bleeding.

His muscles refused to listen.

Move.

MOVE.

Footsteps.

Mercer.

Leo forced himself onto shaking arms.

The doctor was already running.

"No!"

Leo stumbled after him.

The hallway blurred.

His legs felt disconnected from his body.

Mercer crashed through a rooftop access door.

Leo followed seconds later.

Rain immediately drenched him.

Wind whipped across the rooftop.

Mercer was already sprinting.

Leo pushed harder.

Ignored the pain.

Ignored the blood.

Ignored everything.

He was close.

So close.

Then a spotlight appeared overhead.

The sound of rotor blades thundered through the storm.

A helicopter emerged from the darkness.

A ladder dropped.

Mercer grabbed it instantly.

"No!"

Leo lunged.

His fingers missed Mercer by inches.

The ladder began rising.

Mercer looked down at him.

Rain streaming down his face.

And smiled.

Then the helicopter vanished into the storm.

Leo stood frozen.

Chest heaving.

Rain pouring down around him.

His fists clenched.

His entire body shaking.

Behind him, Raph finally emerged onto the roof.

Neither brother spoke.

Because Mercer was gone.

But not before giving them exactly enough information to make everything worse.

The gene.

The phases.

And one terrifying fact.

Juliet had made it to Phase Three.

Chapter 35: Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 - Leo

They walked into the lair soaked from the rain.

Mikey saw them from the door of the medbay.

His eyes widened.

"Woah. What happened to you guys?"

Raph dropped heavily onto a chair.

"You ever lick a power outlet?"

Mikey blinked.

"No?"

"Don't."

Normally Leo might have smiled.

Maybe.

Tonight he walked straight past them.

"Mercer got away."

The room immediately went quiet.

Donnie looked up.

Mikey stopped moving.

Leo didn't elaborate.

Didn't have the energy.

Didn't trust himself to speak without putting a fist through a wall.

Instead he headed directly for the medbay.

The moment he stepped through the doorway—

Everything else disappeared.

Jules.

She was still there.

Still breathing.

Still alive.

The sight hit him just as hard as it had in the van.

Leo stood frozen.

Watching the rise and fall of her chest.

Watching the monitors.

Listening.

Making sure.

His eyes drifted over the feeding tube.

The IV lines.

The bruises.

The weight she'd lost.

Every detail made something twist painfully inside him.

Nine months.

Leo had mourned her for nine months.

And all this time—

She'd been here.

Somewhere.

Waiting.

Suffering.

Leo swallowed hard.

Donnie appeared beside him carrying a tablet.

"Well?" Leo asked quietly.

Donnie immediately launched into an explanation.

"Based on the medication levels and the current infusion rate I believe they've been administering a combination of sedatives and—"

"Don."

Donnie blinked.

"Right."

He glanced at Jules.

Then back at Leo.

"It looks like she's in a medically induced coma."

The words landed like a punch.

"A long one," Donnie continued. "Based on her BMI and the feeding tube I'd guess she's been maintained like this for months."

Leo's jaw tightened.

"I found small surgical incisions near her temples."

Leo immediately looked up.

"What kind of surgery?"

"I don't know."

Donnie sounded frustrated.

"There's also the scar from the stabbing but beyond that..." He shook his head. "I don't know what they did."

Silence settled over the room.

Mikey finally spoke.

"Is she sick?"

"No."

Donnie hesitated.

Then looked at Leo.

Leo already knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Say it."

Donnie sighed.

"I think they kept her in the coma intentionally."

Mikey looked horrified.

"Why?"

Donnie looked away.

"To keep her compliant."

The room fell silent.

Leo had already thought that.

Actually—

He'd imagined worse.

"They could perform tests. Procedures. Wake her up only when they needed specific results."

Mikey looked sick.

Raph's expression darkened.

Leo simply stared at Jules.

The anger had returned.

Cold.

Sharp.

Controlled.

Can you wake her up?

The question came out before he realized he'd spoken.

Donnie nodded slowly.

"I think so."

Hope flickered through Leo's chest.

Then Donnie immediately crushed it.

"But I don't know how long it'll take."

Leo's stomach dropped.

"What do you mean?"

"It means it could be tomorrow."

A pause.

"Or it could be weeks."

Leo's eyes found Jules again.

"And if she doesn't wake up?"

The room became painfully quiet.

Donnie hesitated.

Then answered honestly.

Because Donnie always answered honestly.

"Then she doesn't."

Nobody spoke.

Leo stared at Jules.

At her closed eyes.

At her still form.

No.

She'd survived too much.

"Do it."

Donnie nodded.

"I'll start reducing the medication."

He moved toward the machines and began working.

The others remained silent.

Twenty minutes later Donnie finally stepped back.

"Okay."

Everyone looked up.

"That should do it."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Now we wait."

Leo hated waiting.

But he'd do it.

For her.

He'd wait forever if he had to.

Donnie and the others eventually drifted out.

Leaving Leo alone.

The medbay felt strangely quiet.

Just the hum of machinery.

The soft beeping of monitors.

Leo pulled a chair beside her bed and sat down.

For a long time he simply watched her.

Trying to convince himself she was real.

Trying to convince himself this wasn't some elaborate dream.

His hand found hers.

Warm.

Alive.

The realization nearly broke him.

Leo brushed a strand of hair from her face.

The gesture felt familiar.

Like muscle memory.

Like something he'd done a hundred times.

Maybe he had.

Maybe not enough.

"I'm here."

The words caught in his throat.

Because the last time he'd said them she had been bleeding in his arms.

The last time he'd said them he thought she was dying.

The last time he'd said them he thought it was goodbye.

"I'm here."

Leo squeezed her hand gently.

"This time I'm not leaving."

The monitor continued its steady rhythm.

Beep.

For nine months Leo thought that sound had stopped forever.

Now he listened to it like a prayer.

---

The first night passed.

Then morning.

Then afternoon.

Then night again.

Leo barely moved.

Sometimes he held her hand.

Sometimes he brushed her hair back.

Sometimes he simply sat there listening to her breathe.

The second morning Mikey appeared carrying food.

"Hey."

Leo didn't look away from Jules.

"Hey."

Mikey set the tray down.

"Why don't you let me sit with her for a bit?"

"I'm fine."

"Leo."

"I'm fine."

Mikey stepped closer.

"Seriously. Go shower. Go sleep. I'll be here."

"I'm fine."

"Dude, you look like shit."

Leo let out a tired laugh.

"Thanks."

"I'm serious."

Mikey glanced toward Jules.

"She'd say the same thing."

The smile immediately vanished from Leo's face.

Mikey noticed.

"What?"

Leo looked back toward her.

For a long moment he didn't answer.

Then finally—

"I don't think she's going to want to see me."

Mikey frowned.

"What?"

Leo swallowed.

His eyes stayed fixed on Jules.

"I don't think she's going to want to see me at all."

The words sounded ridiculous.

But they were true.

They'd been sitting in his chest for months.

Growing.

Festering.

"Leo—"

"We fought."

His voice was quiet.

"We fought the night it happened."

Mikey stayed silent.

"She came looking for me."

Leo stared at Jules' hand in his.

"And I hid."

The confession hurt.

Even now.

"I watched her leave."

Mikey's expression softened.

"Leo..."

"I should've stopped her."

His voice cracked.

"I should've walked her home."

He laughed bitterly.

"I should've done a lot of things."

Mikey moved closer.

"Hey."

Leo finally looked up.

Mikey's voice was firm.

"Jules isn't like that."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah."

Mikey nodded.

"I do."

Leo looked away.

Mikey sat down beside him.

"I was there, remember?"

Leo frowned slightly.

"What?"

"Every family dinner."

Leo stayed quiet.

"Every movie night."

Mikey smiled softly.

"Every time you walked into a room."

Leo felt his stomach tighten.

Mikey laughed under his breath.

"Dude."

"What?"

"She looked at you like you hung the moon."

Leo immediately looked away.

Mikey continued anyway.

"Half the time you weren't even talking."

A small shrug.

"You'd just walk in."

Leo could feel heat creeping into his face.

"Mikey."

"I'm serious."

Mikey's smile faded.

"She cared about you."

The room grew quiet.

"What if she doesn't anymore?"

The question slipped out before Leo could stop it.

Mikey's expression softened completely.

Because suddenly this wasn't about guilt.

It wasn't about the case.

It wasn't about the fight.

It was fear.

Simple fear.

Mikey nudged his shoulder.

"When Jules wakes up..."

Not if.

When.

"...the first thing she's gonna look for is you."

Leo stared at him.

Wanting desperately to believe it.

Terrified to believe it.

Mikey stood.

"So go shower."

Leo rolled his eyes.

"You really aren't letting this go."

"Nope."

Mikey pointed dramatically.

"Because if she wakes up and sees you looking like this, she might actually leave."

That earned a small smile.

And for the first time in days—

The knot in Leo's chest loosened.

Just a little.

Mikey sighed dramatically.

"Besides."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"I have, like, nine months of Galactic Raiders updates."

That finally earned a small laugh.

A real one.

Tiny.

But real.

"There he is."

Leo rolled his eyes.

Then stood.

"One shower."

"And if anything changes—"

"I'm sprinting."

Leo finally nodded.

---

The hot water felt strange.

Like he'd forgotten what it was supposed to feel like.

He stepped out and caught his reflection in the mirror.

Then stopped.

For a moment he just stared.

Dark circles.

Sunken eyes.

New scars.

Older scars.

Exhaustion.

He looked older.

Not physically.

Just...

Worn down.

Like something had been slowly hollowing him out from the inside.

Nine months.

Nine months of training.

Nine months of hunting.

Nine months of not sleeping.

Nine months of surviving.

Not living.

Surviving.

Jules is going to wake up and see this version of me.

The thought hurt more than it should have.

Leo looked away.

Got dressed.

Then immediately headed back.

---

Mikey looked annoyed when Leo returned.

"You were supposed to nap."

"I tried."

"You didn't."

"No."

Mikey sighed dramatically.

Then surrendered the chair.

Leo sat back down beside Jules.

Exactly where he'd been.

Exactly where he wanted to be.

Night settled over the lair once more.

The medbay lights dimmed.

Everyone else eventually went to sleep.

But Leo remained.

Listening.

Watching.

Waiting.

At some point exhaustion finally caught him.

His hand remained wrapped around hers.

His finger lazily tracing shapes across the back of her hand.

The monitor continued its steady rhythm.

Beep.

The last thing Leo remembered before sleep finally dragged him under was that sound.

For nine months he thought it had disappeared forever.

Now it echoed through the room like a promise.

And for the first time since Juliet died—

Leonardo fell asleep believing she might come back.

Chapter 36: Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 – Leo

Days had passed.

Leo stayed by her side.

His brothers occasionally forced him to take breaks.

Made him sleep.

Made him eat.

Made him shower.

But Leo never went far.

The medbay had slowly become his home away from home.

He had cleared off one of the tables and filled it with files, photographs, reports, and notes connected to the investigation. If he couldn't actively search for answers, he could at least work while he waited.

He brought down the blanket Jules always stole from his room.

The recliner from near the television somehow found its way into the medbay too.

Nobody questioned it.

So Leo sat.

He worked.

He watched.

And he waited.

Donnie had explained that waking from a coma wasn't simple.

Especially not after this long.

The body needed time.

The brain needed time.

And without knowing exactly how long she had been unconscious, Donnie couldn't even begin to guess when she would wake.

Days.

Weeks.

Maybe longer.

But every morning and every night Donnie checked her vitals.

And every morning and every night he gave the same answer.

Stable.

April and Casey had come by several times.

April cried the first time she saw Jules.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just silent tears sliding down her face while she stood beside the bed.

Before she left, she grabbed Leo's arm.

"You tell me the moment she wakes up."

Leo promised he would.

His brothers rotated through the medbay too.

Mikey would come sit with her and ramble about movies.

Donnie would explain whatever project he was working on.

Raph mostly sat quietly.

Splinter arrived every afternoon with tea.

Sometimes he spoke.

Sometimes he didn't.

Leo appreciated both.

Because whether anyone said it out loud or not, they all understood.

Leo hadn't been there for her during those nine months.

He couldn't change that.

But he would be damned if he left now.

He was there when she woke up.

No exceptions.

---

Leo didn't touch her when other people were around.

He didn't know how she would feel about it.

Didn't know what she remembered.

Didn't know what they were now.

So he kept his distance whenever anyone could see.

But late at night—

When the lair was quiet.

When everyone else had gone to sleep.

When the only sounds came from the machines surrounding her bed—

He would hold her hand.

Trace small circles across the back of her hand with his thumb.

And every night he whispered the same thing.

"I'm here."

Then he'd wait.

For a twitch.

A movement.

A sign.

Anything.

Nothing ever came.

But he kept saying it anyway.

Because someday she would wake up.

She had to.

---

Leo had fallen asleep beside her bed.

One hand still holding hers.

His head resting near the mattress.

The position wasn't comfortable.

It didn't matter.

At some point exhaustion won.

The steady rhythm of the monitors blurred together.

Beep.

Beep—

Beep.

Beep-beep-beep.

Leo's eyes opened.

For a moment he didn't understand what was wrong.

Then he noticed the monitor.

Her heart rate.

Increasing.

Leo lifted his head immediately.

Sleep vanished.

His eyes darted toward the screen.

The numbers were climbing.

Not dangerously.

Just...

Different.

Then he felt it.

A twitch.

Against his hand.

Leo froze.

Every muscle in his body locked.

He stared down at their joined hands.

No.

He imagined that.

His brain had tricked him before.

Donnie told him he needed more sleep.

He was tired.

Exhausted.

Desperate.

His mind—

Another twitch.

Leo stopped breathing.

His heart immediately started pounding.

"Jules?"

The word barely escaped him.

Her fingers moved again.

Small.

Weak.

But real.

Leo stood so fast the recliner nearly tipped backward.

"Jules?" he repeated softly.

Her eyelids fluttered.

A tiny movement beneath the blanket.

His pulse hammered harder.

"Juliet?"

Her eyebrows pulled together.

A faint crease appearing between them.

Confusion.

Effort.

Something.

Leo tightened his grip on her hand.

Not enough to hurt.

Just enough to reassure himself she was actually there.

"Juliet."

This time his voice cracked.

Her eyes began to open.

Slowly.

Painfully slowly.

Like every ounce of effort in her body was focused on that single task.

She blinked against the dim light.

The only illumination came from the monitors and the soft glow of one of Donnie's lava lamps sitting on a nearby desk.

Her eyes moved.

Searching.

Trying to understand where she was.

Disoriented.

Confused.

Alive.

Leo felt his knees nearly give out.

Nine months.

Nine months of nightmares.

Nine months of grief.

Nine months of wishing.

Nine months of convincing himself he would never see those eyes again.

And now they were here.

The same eyes that appeared in his dreams.

The same eyes that haunted his nightmares.

The same eyes he'd watched close while blood soaked through his hands.

Her gaze struggled to focus.

Slowly—

It settled on him.

Recognition flickered.

For one horrible second Leo thought she didn't know who he was.

Thought she would look through him like a stranger.

Then her expression softened.

And something inside his chest shattered.

Not pain.

Relief.

The kind that hurts.

The kind that leaves you shaking afterward.

"Hey."

His voice broke immediately.

A laugh escaped him.

Half sob.

Half disbelief.

"Hey."

Jules kept staring at him.

Like she was trying to convince herself he was real too.

Leo couldn't stop looking at her.

Couldn't blink.

Couldn't breathe normally.

Couldn't think.

Her hand was still in his.

Still warm.

Still real.

He held it carefully.

Gently.

Terrified she'd disappear if he moved too fast.

Then—

Her fingers curled weakly around his.

And that was it.

That was the thing that finally destroyed what little composure he had left.

Because she squeezed back.

A tiny movement.

Barely any strength behind it.

But enough.

Enough to prove she was really here.

Leo felt tears burn his eyes.

Felt his throat close.

Felt nine months of grief crack apart all at once.

He laughed again.

A broken sound.

And before he could stop himself, he lowered his forehead against their joined hands.

Relief flooded through him so suddenly it almost hurt.

"You're awake," he whispered.

His voice shook.

A smile pulled at his face despite the tears gathering in his eyes.

"You're actually awake."

For the first time in nine months, Leonardo let himself believe she was going to stay.

Chapter 37: Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 – Jules

Everything hurt.

Her head.

Her body.

Her eyes.

It felt like she was swimming through deep water, reaching for something just beyond her grasp.

She heard a noise somewhere far away.

Deep.

Muffled.

Distant.

She was so tired.

Then she heard it again.

And again.

Somewhere ahead there was a soft glow.

A light.

A warmth.

A weight.

She knew that feeling.

Didn't she?

Her mind struggled to catch it.

Everything was slippery.

Out of reach.

What was happening?

Who was she—

Her eyes fluttered.

Once.

Twice.

The world appeared in pieces.

Blurry shapes.

Dim light.

A soft beeping.

Her eyes searched desperately for something familiar.

Anything.

Then they found blue.

Blue eyes.

Blue bandana.

Blue.

Leo.

It was Leo.

The weight.

It was his hand.

He was holding hers.

Seeing him made the fear smaller.

He was saying something.

She couldn't make out the words.

His head was lowered, resting near their joined hands.

Jules followed him with her eyes.

Then she felt something tugging at her face.

A mask.

Something covering her nose and mouth.

"Ugh..."

Her free hand lifted weakly toward it.

Or tried to.

The movement was pathetic.

Heavy.

Like her arm belonged to someone else.

Leo's head snapped up.

The second he saw her moving, he was beside her.

"Jules?"

His voice cracked.

She made another weak attempt at the mask.

Leo immediately understood.

Carefully he helped lift it away.

Cool air touched her face.

She took a shaky breath.

And finally got a good look at him.

His eyes were red.

Exhaustion etched across his face.

Worry written into every line.

He looked awful.

"Leo?" she whispered.

Her voice barely worked.

"Hey."

The relief in his voice nearly broke her heart.

"You look awful."

For a second Leo just stared.

Then a laugh escaped him.

A broken sound.

Half laugh.

Half sob.

A few tears slipped down his face.

Before Jules could react, Leo leaned forward.

His forehead pressed gently against her temple.

One hand still held hers.

The other slid into her hair.

Cradling her head.

Holding her like he was afraid she'd disappear.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered.

The words were so quiet she almost missed them.

Jules suddenly wanted to hug him.

To wrap her arms around him.

To comfort him.

But she could barely move.

So she squeezed his hand instead.

And softly said,

"I'm here."

Leo's breath caught.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Then the medbay door creaked open.

"Hey Leo, I was think—"

Mikey stopped.

Dead.

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

Leo released Jules's hand so fast it was almost suspicious.

"SUGARPIE!"

Jules jumped.

Or tried to.

Mikey dropped whatever he'd been carrying.

It clattered loudly against the floor.

Then he sprinted toward her.

Before she could react, she was being pulled into a hug.

A very enthusiastic hug.

A very painful hug.

Mikey squeezed.

Jules gasped.

Pain shot through her ribs.

"Alright, alright!"

Leo immediately grabbed Mikey.

"Don't smother her."

He physically peeled Mikey off her.

Jules couldn't help it.

A small smile tugged at her lips.

"I can't believe you're awake!"

Mikey looked seconds away from crying.

"Just wait until the others see you."

His eyes widened.

"Oh!"

He pointed dramatically.

"I need to call April!"

Then he inhaled.

"DONNIE! RAPH! MASTER SPLINTER!"

The shout stabbed directly into Jules's skull.

She visibly flinched.

Leo was immediately back beside her.

Looking her over.

"Leo—"

Before she could finish, the medbay door opened again.

Donnie rushed in.

Raph behind him.

A moment later Splinter appeared.

Suddenly the room felt crowded.

Voices overlapping.

Questions.

Greetings.

Relief.

But through all of it—

Leo never left her side.

"How are you feeling?" Donnie finally asked.

"Like I got hit by a bus."

To prove her point, Jules attempted to lift her hand.

It performed a strange floppy motion.

Then immediately fell back onto the bed.

Donnie nodded.

"Don't worry. That's normal. Coming out of a coma is hard on the body. Given how long you've been unconscious, I'd estimate recovery of motor function will—"

Jules froze.

"Coma?"

Donnie froze too.

"Oops."

The entire room went silent.

Jules looked at Leo.

Leo looked at Donnie.

Donnie suddenly became fascinated by the ceiling.

"Coma?" Jules repeated.

Nobody spoke.

A knot formed in her stomach.

Why was nobody talking?

Why did everyone suddenly look uncomfortable?

She was in a coma?

Why?

What happened?

Why couldn't she remember?

The monitor beside her began beeping faster.

Before panic could fully take hold, Leo stepped directly into her line of sight.

"Hey."

His voice was calm.

Steady.

Grounding.

His hand settled over hers.

Warm.

Solid.

Real.

"It's okay."

Jules focused on him.

"Jules."

His thumb brushed across the back of her hand.

"Breathe."

She hadn't even realized she stopped.

A shaky breath escaped her.

"Good."

His voice stayed low.

"Just breathe."

Another breath.

The panic eased slightly.

"It's okay."

At some point Mikey moved closer.

She felt him gently grab her foot through the blanket.

The extra contact helped.

Grounded her.

Kept her here.

"We can start small," Leo said.

Jules managed a weak nod.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

She searched.

Darkness.

Grey walls.

A strange sound.

Fragments.

Nothing complete.

"I..."

Her throat tightened.

"I don't know."

Fear surged.

"I can't remember."

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"I can't."

"Shhh."

Leo's hand squeezed hers.

"It's okay."

His voice stayed steady.

"You don't have to remember right now."

"What happened?" she asked.

The room went quiet.

She saw Raph and Mikey exchange a glance.

Donnie refused to meet her eyes.

So she looked at Leo.

Directly.

"What happened?"

Leo looked like he was debating a thousand different answers.

"You were hurt."

His voice sounded rough.

"We thought we lost you."

The words got quieter.

More painful.

"You've been out for a long time."

"How long?"

Leo looked down.

Donnie chose the worst possible moment to contribute.

"We don't know exactly how long the coma lasted, but probably months—"

"Months?!"

Leo's glare nearly killed him.

Donnie immediately regretted every decision he'd ever made.

"How do you not know?" Jules asked.

Panic surged again.

"It's okay," Leo said quickly.

"Take a breath."

"Just tell her," Raph said.

Everyone looked at Leo.

"Rip the bandage off."

Leo swallowed.

Then met Jules's eyes.

"Nine months ago," he said quietly, "you were stabbed by Shredder."

Jules stared.

"We were told you died during surgery."

The room disappeared.

The words echoed.

Died.

"We found you at a transitional warehouse."

Leo's voice sounded distant now.

"About to be moved."

"We brought you back here."

His throat tightened.

"And we've been waiting for you to wake up."

Silence.

Nobody knew what to say.

Including her.

"You thought I died?"

Her voice sounded small.

Leo looked away.

That answer alone told her everything.

Nine months.

They thought she was dead for nine months.

Questions exploded through her head.

Why was she alive?

What was a transitional warehouse?

Why couldn't she remember?

What happened?

The thoughts wouldn't stop.

A sudden sharp pain stabbed through her temple.

Jules gasped.

A loud ringing filled her ears.

The room blurred.

"Jules?"

Leo's voice sounded muffled.

Far away.

"My head."

The pain intensified.

She heard voices.

Heard movement.

Then someone rolled up her sleeve.

A sharp sting entered her arm.

"Ow—"

The room tilted.

Darkness crept into the edges of her vision.

The last thing she saw was Leo leaning over her.

Fear written all over his face.

Then everything went black.

Chapter 38: Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - Jules

Jules heard the soft rustling of paper.

Her head was pounding.

Her mouth tasted like metal.

She heard the paper again.

Slowly she adjusted her eyes and saw Leo sitting exactly where he had been.

Only now he had papers spread around him.

Jules took her time looking at him.

He looked worn out.

Exhausted.

Like he hadn't slept in months.

That made something ache in her chest.

Her ears still rang faintly in the background.

Her body felt locked and stiff.

Carefully she started testing it.

First her toes.

A small wiggle.

Then her feet.

Then her legs.

Each movement felt sluggish and heavy.

Like she was learning how to use her body all over again.

The movement caught Leo's attention.

His head snapped up.

The files were forgotten immediately.

He was out of his chair and beside her in seconds.

"Hey."

Her voice still sounded rough.

"How do you feel?"

"My head is killing me."

Leo nodded.

"I'll have Donnie get you something."

He paused.

Looking her over carefully.

Making sure she was really awake.

Really here.

"Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Nine months..."

His expression softened.

"Yeah."

A long pause stretched between them.

Jules looked down at her hands.

They didn't even feel like hers.

"I feel... lost."

Leo was quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"I know."

Something about hearing him say it made her want to cry.

"We don't have to figure everything out right now."

Jules stared at the blanket.

"It feels like I do."

"You don't."

The answer was so simple it almost hurt.

"Let's focus on one thing at a time."

Jules looked back at him.

"Want to try sitting up?"

She nodded.

Leo moved beside her while she tested the rest of her limbs.

With Leo helping support her shoulders and back she slowly pushed herself upright.

The effort was ridiculous.

Her arms shook.

Her breathing increased.

By the time she was sitting she felt like she'd run a marathon.

Stars danced across her vision.

"Easy."

Leo steadied her.

"Take your time."

Jules leaned against him more than she'd like to admit.

Her body simply didn't have another option.

"Water?"

She nodded.

Leo grabbed the cup.

He carefully lifted it to her lips.

The water immediately helped.

The metallic taste faded.

The pressure in her head eased slightly.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"What day is it?"

Leo suddenly looked sheepish.

"I... don't know."

Jules stared.

"How do you not know?"

"I've been busy."

"With what?"

"Nothing important."

She looked around the room.

The files.

The blanket.

The chair that definitely hadn't originally belonged in the medbay.

Then back at him.

"Clearly important enough to lose track of the date."

"Okay let's move past this."

"No."

"Jules."

"No, I think we should focus on this."

A laugh escaped her.

Small.

Weak.

But real.

It made her body hurt.

It also made Leo somehow look five years younger.

He stared at her.

Almost happy.

Almost sad.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

Another pause.

Leo was looking at her.

Really looking at her.

Taking in every feature of her face.

If it were anyone else she might have felt uncomfortable.

But this was Leo.

He was...

Well.

He was her Leo.

Eventually Leo cleared his throat.

"I should go get Donnie."

Immediately a knot formed in her stomach.

"Don't leave."

The words came out quieter than she intended.

Leo didn't hesitate.

"Okay."

Just like that.

His arm remained behind her back helping keep her upright.

"What are you working on?" she asked, looking toward the files.

"We can talk about that later."

"Please?"

Leo sighed.

"Give me something to think about besides the fact I was in a coma for who knows how long."

He considered that.

Then nodded.

"Okay."

Jules immediately perked up.

"We've been working the Helix case."

Jules nodded.

"There is a lot."

He pointed at her.

"And I am not overloading you."

She rolled her eyes.

"But I was looking over some of the missing person files."

"Which ones?"

"The ones we've found."

Jules blinked.

"You found them?"

"We have found six of them."

Relief immediately flooded through her.

Then another thought hit.

"Did you find Evelyn?"

The answer was obvious before she even finished asking.

Leo didn't say anything.

"Oh."

Jules looked down.

Already thinking.

Already trying to fit pieces together.

How had they found them?

Were they okay?

Could they—

"Stop that."

Jules blinked.

"What?"

"You're thinking."

She looked offended.

"Of course I'm thinking."

"No."

Leo pointed at her again.

"Your work brain just turned on. Stop it."

"Why?"

"Because your brain and body need to recover."

"You already told me some of it."

"No."

"Might as well tell me the rest."

"No."

"Leo."

"Juliet."

The full name made her immediately suspicious.

"You can't even sit up on your own."

He gestured toward her.

"You haven't eaten. We need bloodwork. We need to figure out what medications are still in your system."

Jules let out an annoyed puff of air.

"You're taking this slow."

She opened her mouth to argue.

Then saw his expression.

Genuine concern.

Pure worry.

"Please," he said quietly.

Jules closed her mouth.

"Thank you."

She frowned.

"When can I know?"

"When you're better."

"Who determines that?"

"I do."

"No fair."

Leo gave her a look.

"How about a reward system?"

That got an eyebrow raise.

"When I make progress in recovery, I get a little more information."

"It's a win-win."

Leo thought about it.

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"Leo!"

"Nope."

"I want Mikey as my caretaker now."

Leo actually smiled.

"Please. You wouldn't survive one day with him."

"Fine then... Splinter."

That earned a laugh.

Small.

But there.

Jules smiled too.

The room felt lighter.

For a moment.

"I missed you."

The words came out so quietly she almost thought she'd imagined them.

Almost.

Jules looked at him.

Leo looked away immediately.

Like he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

Her chest tightened.

She got a familiar feeling fluttering in her stomach.

The medbay doors opened.

"Hey! You're up!"

Donnie entered carrying a tablet.

Leo didn't leave her side.

Though she noticed he put a little more space between them.

"I am."

"Good."

Donnie immediately switched into doctor mode.

"Let's do a quick run-through while you're lucid."

"Okay..."

"The pain you experienced before we sedated you. What kind of pain was it?"

Jules described the headache.

The ringing.

The metallic taste.

Donnie noted everything down.

Then paused.

Jules hesitated.

"Could we... maybe not do that again?"

Donnie looked up.

"What?"

"The putting me under thing."

Donnie exchanged a look with Leo.

"You were in a lot of pain."

"I know."

Jules picked at the blanket.

"I just... maybe we could try something different."

Neither of them spoke immediately.

Finally Leo nodded.

"If you don't want to be put under, we won't."

He looked at Donnie.

"Right?"

Donnie nodded.

"Right."

Relief washed through Jules.

"Thank you."

"Okay," Donnie said. "Bloodwork next."

Leo stayed beside her while Donnie drew blood.

It wasn't much.

But she still felt dizzy afterward.

Leo helped her settle back against the pillows.

"Okay..." Donnie said.

Then looked at Leo.

"Um... Why don't you go get her some food?"

"What? No."

"Leo."

"Why don't you get her food? Or make Mikey go get it."

"Leo."

"I'm not leaving."

Jules immediately realized where this conversation was headed.

Absolutely not.

She reached out and touched Leo's arm.

"Hey."

Leo looked down instantly.

"It's okay."

"What?"

"Just for a minute."

His expression immediately hardened.

"What? No."

"Please, Leo."

"Why would I have to leave?"

Jules tried not to laugh.

"Less than a minute."

Leo looked between her and Donnie.

Clearly trying to solve a mystery neither intended to explain.

Finally he sighed.

"Fine."

He pointed at both of them.

"One minute."

"Leo."

"I'm serious."

"Leo."

"One minute."

"You're ridiculous."

Leo looked completely unapologetic.

Then finally turned toward the door.

Before leaving he stopped.

Turned around.

And pointed again.

"One minute."

Then he disappeared into the hallway.

The second the door shut Jules looked at Donnie.

"Don't speak of this again."

Donnie immediately nodded.

"Trust me."

He reached for the blanket.

"I won't."

Chapter 39: Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Chapter 12 - Jules

Recovery was harder than Jules had expected.

At first she thought her body just needed to wake up.

A few days.

Then everything would go back to normal.

It didn't.

By the time day five arrived she could barely make it to the bathroom with Leo supporting half her weight.

Every step left her exhausted.

Every day she woke up hoping things would magically be better.

Every day they weren't.

"It takes time," Leo reminded her.

He meant well.

But it somehow made it worse.

She had already lost time.

Nine months.

She didn't have any more to spare.

Meanwhile, Leo wouldn't tell her anything.

"What about the connection with—"

"Juliet."

"What?"

"No."

"I didn't even finish."

"You were going to ask about the case."

She crossed her arms.

"Maybe."

"No."

"I could help."

"You will."

"When?"

"When you're better."

It was always the same answer.

The worst part was that he was being annoyingly reasonable about it.

Leo spent nearly every waking moment with her.

He helped her walk.

Helped her eat.

Helped her sit up.

Helped her through headaches.

Helped her through the moments when panic crept up unexpectedly.

He was patient.

Kind.

Protective.

Infuriating.

The first night after she woke up she hadn't even meant to fall asleep.

One moment she hae been awake.

The next she was dreaming.

Grey.

Cold.

A distant metallic sound.

A door slamming.

Voices she couldn't understand.

Something grabbed her arm.

Jules jerked awake.

Breathing hard.

Sweat clinging to her skin.

Leo was beside her instantly.

She wasn't even sure she'd made a noise.

"It's okay."

His voice was calm.

Steady.

Grounding.

"It's okay."

Jules grabbed his hand before she even realized she was doing it.

Slowly her breathing settled.

Leo stayed quiet until she calmed down.

"You should try to get some more rest."

Jules swallowed.

She didn't want to.

She hated sleeping.

She hated the flashes.

Hated feeling like she was losing more time.

Hated the feeling that something waited for her there.

Leo rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

Drawing absent-minded shapes.

"Stay with me?" she whispered.

His answer came immediately.

"I'm not going anywhere."

And he didn't.

When Jules woke up the next morning Leo was asleep in the chair beside her bed.

One hand still holding hers.

His head resting against the mattress.

She didn't mention it.

Neither did he.

Days passed.

Leo was there for her first meal.

Even though she only managed a few bites.

He was there when Casey visited.

There when April came by.

There when Donnie ran tests.

There when Mikey tried teaching her card games she was too tired to follow.

He was always there.

The rare times he left she was usually handed off to one of the others.

Jules was pretty sure he'd threatened them all into silence about the case too.

When she tried to get more info they would deflect.

Mikey distracted her.

Donnie redirected conversations.

Raph simply said no.

Every time.

It was maddening.

Especially because she still didn't know what happened.

All she knew was:

Shredder stabbed her.

Then nine months disappeared.

The rest remained a mystery.

She managed to ask April once when they were alone.

April hesitated.

"I honestly don't know... I got a call from Donnie."

April looked down.

"He told me to meet them at the hospital."

Jules waited.

"When I got there..."

April stopped.

"It was bad."

Jules swallowed.

"How bad?"

April's expression softened.

"There was so much blood."

The words hit harder than she expected.

"The boys wouldn't talk about it afterward."

A pause.

"Especially Leo."

Jules looked away.

"Do you think... it was my fault?"

April blinked.

"What?"

"Whatever happened."

April thought for a moment.

"I don't know, but I'd guess no."

Jules nodded.

Then a familiar voice appeared from the doorway.

"What are we talking about?"

Leo stood there holding two cups.

Like the universe had summoned him.

The conversation died immediately.

So here she was, sitting on the couch twisting a length of rope Donnie had given her.

Apparently tying knots helped motor skills.

Personally she thought Donnie just needed her occupied.

Leo sat nearby reviewing files.

His phone rang.

He answered.

"Hey."

A pause.

"Yeah, she's right here."

He handed Jules the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey!"

April sounded guilty.

"I am so sorry. I can't make it down today."

Jules felt her shoulders sink.

"There was a robbery downtown and Channel Six wants me covering it."

"What kind of robbery?"

"I don't know yet. Something involving a new material called Nyrium."

"Nyrium?"

"Apparently it's a big deal."

April sighed.

"I really tried getting out of it."

"It's okay."

"No it isn't."

Jules smiled despite herself.

"It is."

"I'll be there tomorrow."

"I know."

After a few more apologies April finally hung up.

Jules sat there staring at the phone long after the call had ended.

The screen had already gone dark.

Get over yourself.

It's one more day.

One day wasn't a big deal.

Still, disappointment settled heavily in her chest.

She set the phone down on the couch beside her.

"Everything okay?"

Leo didn't look up from the files spread across the table, but she could tell he'd been paying attention the entire time.

"Oh yeah."

Jules waved a hand.

"It's fine."

Leo finally looked over.

The expression on his face very clearly said I don't believe you for a second.

Jules sighed.

"I'm really not in a position to complain."

"You can complain."

"It's not worth complaining over."

"What isn't?"

She hesitated.

"It doesn't matter."

"Juliet."

The warning tone made her roll her eyes.

"April can't come today."

Leo waited.

"And?"

She shrugged.

"She has to work."

Another pause.

"And?"

Jules shot him a look.

"Why are you like this?"

"Answer the question."

"It's not a big deal."

"Juliet."

"I can wait one more day."

"For what?"

Jules rubbed her face.

"It's stupid."

"If it's upsetting you then it's not stupid."

Comments like that made arguing harder.

"She was supposed to help me with something."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"It's embarrassing."

Leo folded his arms.

Now he definitely wasn't letting this go.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

Jules glared.

Leo waited.

Patiently.

Relentlessly.

Eventually she cracked.

"A shower."

Leo blinked.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Jules looked away.

"I just..."

She searched for the right words.

"I feel gross."

Leo stayed quiet.

Jules looked down at her hands.

"Mostly my hair."

She tugged lightly on one of the longer strands.

"It feels disgusting."

Still no response.

"I know it's stupid."

"It isn't."

"I was just excited for it."

She shrugged.

"But it's fine."

A pause.

"I can wait another day."

Leo was still staring at her.

Thinking..

Then Leo pulled out his phone.

A moment later Mikey wandered into the room.

"Hey, Sugarpie."

Leo stood.

"I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later he returned.

"Ready?"

"For what?"

"Your shower."

Jules laughed.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Just come with me."

Getting to the bathroom took forever.

By the time they arrived her legs already trembled.

Then she stopped.

A chair sat leaned back against the large sink.

Towels waited nearby.

Fresh clothes rested neatly folded on the counter.

"I can't really do the shower part," Leo admitted.

"But I figured we could try this."

Jules smiled.

Despite herself.

He helped her settle into the chair.

"I've never done this before. I don't actually have any hair."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Leo laughed.

"So you'll have to walk me through it."

She did.

Water temperature.

Shampoo.

Conditioner.

Everything.

Leo followed every instruction with absolute seriousness.

Like he was performing surgery.

The warm water felt incredible.

For the first time in days Jules relaxed.

Her eyes drifted closed.

Leo worked carefully.

Terrified of pulling too hard.

Terrified of hurting her.

When he finished he wrapped her hair in a towel.

Then stepped outside so she could clean up the rest herself.

Once the door clicked shut behind Leo, Jules let out a slow breath.

The bathroom was quiet.

For the first time in days, nobody was watching her.

No one asking how she felt.

No one helping her walk.

No one hovering nearby waiting to catch her if she stumbled.

Just her.

Jules gripped the edge of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.

She almost didn't recognize the person staring back.

Her face looked thinner.

Her cheeks more hollow.

Her skin pale.

Tired.

Older somehow.

Nine months.

Nine months had happened to her body while she'd been asleep.

She slowly peeled the towel from her hair and set it aside.

Then her gaze drifted lower.

To the hem of her shirt.

Thoughts flashed through her mind.

The way nobody wanted to talk about it.

The way April had looked sick just remembering.

Jules swallowed.

Slowly she lifted the fabric and took of her shirt.

The breath left her lungs.

The scar stretched across her stomach.

Large.

Raised.

Angry pink against pale skin.

It looked impossible.

Like something from a surgery show.

Not something attached to her.

Not something she'd survived.

Her fingers hovered over it before finally touching the edge.

The skin felt different.

Numb in some places.

Sensitive in others.

She traced the line carefully.

Trying to understand it.

Trying to understand how someone could look at that and think she lived.

April had said there was a lot of blood.

Leo wouldn't talk about it.

The boys looked away whenever she asked.

Looking at the scar now, Jules thought she finally understood why.

The wound was real.

Permanent.

Proof that something terrible had happened.

Proof that everyone else remembered a night she couldn't.

Her hand fell away.

Nine months.

They thought she was dead for nine months.

The thought settled heavily in her chest.

Not because of what it meant for her.

Because of what it meant for them.

For April.

For Casey.

For the turtles.

For Leo.

Especially Leo.

Jules reached for the fresh clothes Leo had left for her.

Briefly noticing the shirt was the same one he gave her on the night they met face to face.

The scar disappeared beneath the fabric.

But somehow it felt more real now than it had a minute ago.

She stared at her reflection one last time.

Then straightened as much as her aching body would allow.

Then she turned toward the door.

"Leo?" she called.

Almost immediately she heard movement outside.

And for some reason that made her smile.

He helped her back to the couch.

Then sat behind her.

Brushing her hair.

Slowly.

Patiently.

It had grown longer.

Nine months longer.

"Maybe I should cut it."

Leo paused.

"If you want."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's up to you."

"Cop out."

Leo chuckled.

"Maybe."

She turned slightly.

"If you had to choose."

"I'm not choosing."

"Leo."

"Whatever you like."

"Please."

He sighed dramatically.

"Fine."

Jules waited.

"I like it long."

A small smile appeared before she could stop it.

Thankfully he couldn't see her face.

Leo set the brush down.

"Hold on I'll go get Mikey."

"Why?"

"So he can braid it for you."

Jules stared.

"Mikey can braid hair?"

Leo looked at her with a smirk.

"What do you think he does during girls' nights with April?"

Jules laughed.

A real laugh.

The kind she hadn't heard from herself in a very long time.

Chapter 40: Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Chapter 13 - Leo

Leo watched the steady rise and fall of Jules's chest.

She was asleep.

Finally.

She never wanted to anymore.

Every night she fought it.

Every night she pretended she wasn't exhausted.

Every night Leo pretended not to notice.

Then he'd start doing something boring.

Cleaning his swords.

Reading a book.

Organizing case files.

Anything quiet.

Anything repetitive.

Eventually her eyes would drift closed.

Like she trusted him to keep watch while she slept.

Maybe she did.

Leo sat in the chair beside her bed and studied her face.

The dark circles beneath her eyes had started fading.

Her skin had a little more color now.

Every day she looked a little stronger.

A little healthier.

A little more like herself.

A couple more days and maybe she'd finally be able to move back into his room.

The thought made him smile.

Then the smile faded.

Because every time he allowed himself to feel hopeful, another thought followed.

Nine months.

Nine months she had been gone.

Nine months he hadn't searched.

Nine months he had believed she was dead.

Leo looked down at his hands.

He hated himself for that.

Hated that he never demanded to see her body.

Hated that he was too afraid.

Too broken.

Too willing to believe what Mercer told him.

Most of all—

He hated that she had spent nine months alone.

His eyes drifted back to her sleeping form.

But she wasn't alone anymore.

She was here.

Alive.

Breathing.

Within reach.

And she didn't remember.

She didn't remember the fight.

She didn't remember the warehouse.

She didn't remember the kiss.

She didn't remember him failing her.

Every time she smiled at him, every time she reached for his hand, he felt the weight of that secret sitting between them.

Tell her.

The thought came again.

Tell her about the fight.

Tell her about the kiss.

Tell her why she was alone that night.

Tell her everything.

Leo's stomach tightened.

He looked at her face.

At the peaceful expression she'd only managed when she was deeply asleep.

No.

Not today.

Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow had become his favorite lie.

Leo let out a slow breath and stood.

She was in a deep sleep.

Hopefully she'd stay that way for a few hours.

He quietly stepped out of the medbay and headed toward the main living area.

His brothers were already gathered around the table.

Case files covered the surface.

Maps.

Photographs.

Notes.

The investigation never stopped.

"She asleep?" Mikey asked.

Leo didn't even get a chance to answer.

"Ah you know better than that Mikey." Raph said.

Mikey looked confused.

Raph jerked a thumb toward Leo.

"He wouldn't leave her side if she was awake."

Mikey nodded.

"Fair point."

Leo rolled his eyes.

"Funny."

"Thank you," Raph said.

Donnie looked up from his laptop.

"Can we focus?"

"Please," Leo said.

Donnie immediately launched into his report.

"Vincent has officially relocated all recovered missing persons to a secure lab near the Eighty-Fourth Precinct."

"All of them?" Leo asked.

Donnie nodded.

"Even the non-survivors."

The room grew quiet.

Leo folded his arms.

Donnie nodded again.

"Second autopsies are underway."

"Different doctors?"

"Vincent's theory is that if Helix managed to compromise one medical professional, they can't compromise all of them. And with multiple experts work on her their results should be compatible if not the same."

Leo nodded.

"How is she keeping their work separate?"

"They only get access to each victim one day a week. Eight-hour windows. No collaboration."

Mikey whistled.

"That's intense."

"With how many twists this case has taken?" Donnie said. "I don't blame her."

"And Casey?" Leo asked.

Raph answered this time.

"Ran another search through NYPD databases using the new criteria."

"Results?"

"Three more possible Foot assets."

Leo frowned.

"What steps is he taking?"

"Keeping them close. Watching. Waiting for warrants."

Leo immediately shook his head.

"Tell him to hold off."

That got everyone's attention.

Donnie leaned forward.

"You have something?"

"No."

Leo paused.

"Just a hunch."

Mikey groaned.

"Oh good. Leo's hunches."

"They're usually right," Raph pointed out.

"That's what scares me."

Leo ignored them.

"Mercer said phases."

The room quieted.

"He said Jules made it to Phase Three."

No one interrupted.

"He called it an infiltration program."

Donnie slowly sat back.

Understanding began forming on his face.

"You think the NYPD isn't the only place compromised."

"I think it's one target of many."

Silence.

"The Foot wants power," Leo continued.

"They don't just want territory."

"They don't just want us."

He looked around the table.

"They want influence."

"Control."

"They want people in positions that matter."

Raph nodded slowly.

"Government."

"Law enforcement."

"Military."

Leo nodded.

"We don't know how deep this goes."

Mikey leaned back.

"Woah."

"Exactly."

Leo pointed at Donnie.

"Contact Vincent, see when we can get a copy of the autopsy results."

Then at Raph.

"Tell Casey to wait on the warrants. We'll use trackers first."

Both nodded.

Then Mikey asked the question Leo had been expecting.

"And Jules?"

Leo's eyes drifted toward the medbay doors.

Everyone noticed.

No one said anything.

"Jules stays here."

His answer came instantly.

No hesitation.

No debate.

"Until we know more."

Because there was no universe where he was taking her anywhere Helix could find her again.

---

Leo found himself sitting with Splinter in the dojo for their weekly tea.

The room was quiet.

The only sounds were the distant hum of the lair and the occasional drip of water somewhere deep in the tunnels.

Splinter sat across from him with a cup of tea.

Leo hadn't touched his own.

"My son."

Leo looked up.

"Hm?"

"You seem tired."

Leo almost laughed.

Tired was probably the understatement of the year.

"I'm fine."

Splinter raised an eyebrow.

"Do not lie to me, Leonardo."

Leo looked away.

There was no point trying.

Not with him.

Not anymore.

A long silence stretched between them.

Finally Leo exhaled.

"I..." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I keep waiting for her to disappear again."

Splinter remained still.

Waiting.

Giving him room to continue.

Leo swallowed.

"I feel like I'm in a dream half the time."

The words came easier after that.

"She's there."

His voice dropped.

"She jokes and smiles and complains about Donnie's tests and argues with me about taking it easy and—"

He stopped.

His throat tightening.

"She's there."

Splinter nodded softly.

Leo stared at the floor.

"And I keep thinking if I stop looking for even a second..."

His voice cracked.

"...I'll wake up."

Silence.

Splinter understood.

He always did.

A warm hand settled on Leo's forearm.

Grounding.

Steady.

"That is a very reasonable fear, my son."

Leo closed his eyes.

For some reason hearing someone say it made his chest hurt worse.

"But you must overcome it."

Leo looked up.

"If you are to continue leading your family... helping those around you..."

Splinter's gaze softened.

"...including Jules..."

Leo swallowed.

"You must heal from the guilt and fear you carry."

Guilt.

There it was.

The thing he'd been avoiding.

The thing that followed him every time he looked at her.

The thing sitting in his chest every time she smiled at him.

Because she didn't remember.

Because she didn't know.

Because if she knew—

Leo looked away.

"Hai, Sensei."

Splinter nodded.

"How is she?"

Leo smiled despite himself.

"Better every day."

"Yet you have concerns."

"No."

Splinter waited.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck.

"Her head hurts all the time."

"Mm."

"She gets these headaches."

"Mm."

"She barely sleeps."

"Mm."

"The dreams."

Leo continued.

"She doesn't talk about them much, but she wakes up scared."

The admission felt heavy.

"Sometimes she doesn't even know why."

Splinter was quiet for several moments.

Then he nodded.

"I have an idea."

---

The next thing Leo knew, he was standing in the medbay with Jules and Splinter.

Jules looked between them suspiciously.

"Why do I feel like I'm being ambushed?"

"You are not being ambushed," Splinter said calmly.

"That sounds exactly like something someone says before an ambush."

A faint smile touched Splinter's face.

Leo folded his arms.

"I told you she'd say that."

Splinter settled onto a nearby chair.

"Juliet, I have been observing you."

That immediately got her attention.

"That's either really comforting or really creepy."

"Both can be true."

He gave a small smile.

"You have suffered a great trauma. Your body is recovering, but your mind is attempting to protect itself."

Jules looked down at her hands.

"The headaches?"

"The headaches. The dreams. The anxiety. The gaps in your memory."

She swallowed.

"I don't remember much."

"No."

"And I don't really know if I want to."

The room fell quiet.

Splinter nodded.

"That is understandable."

Jules blinked.

She had expected a lecture.

Not agreement.

"Most people believe courage is the absence of fear," Splinter continued. "It is not. Courage is looking toward something frightening despite the desire to look away."

Jules stared at him.

"Your mind is currently pulling in two directions. One part wishes to remember. Another part wishes to protect you from remembering."

Leo saw her shoulders tense.

"So what are you saying?"

"I am suggesting a solution. Meditation."

Jules glanced at Leo.

Then back at Splinter.

"Meditation?"

"Yes."

She looked unconvinced.

"With all due respect, I'm not sure sitting cross-legged and thinking peaceful thoughts is going to fix this."

"It is fortunate that I am not asking you to do that."

Jules paused.

Splinter folded his hands.

"Meditation is not about forcing memories to return. It is not about reliving pain."

"Then what is it?"

"It is learning how to sit with your thoughts instead of running from them."

The room grew quiet.

"You spend much of your day fighting your body," Splinter said gently. "Fighting your weakness. Fighting your frustration. Fighting your fear."

Jules looked away.

Because he wasn't wrong.

"What I am offering is an opportunity to stop fighting for a little while."

Leo saw something soften in her expression.

Just a little.

"What if nothing happens?" she asked.

"Then nothing happens."

"And if something does?"

Splinter's eyes were kind.

"Then you will not face it alone."

Jules was quiet for several moments.

Finally she sighed.

"We will start tomorrow." Splinter said standing.

"Tomorrow?" Jules asked

"Tomorrow." Splinter said.

He left the medbay without another word.

Jules and Leo shared a look.

Both dreading the next day, but for entirely different reasons.

Chapter 41: Chapter 14

Notes:

Wow a whole month since I started the story! I am so happy so many of you are enjoying it so far. I am so excited for how everything will play out. So I hope you continue to be a part of it!

Thank you so much for reading this far!

*small note, I have a really crazy week ahead. I am going to try and keep up with a chapter a day schedule, but in case I don't I am sorry ♡

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 – Jules

The room smelled faintly of sandalwood.

Jules sat cross-legged on a floor cushion, trying very hard not to think about how uncomfortable she was.

Splinter's meditation room was beautiful.

Or at least she thought it was a meditation room.

It sat beside his private quarters and looked nothing like the rest of the lair.

Small candles flickered around the space.

A tiny fountain trickled softly in one corner.

A bonsai tree rested on a low shelf.

Tea supplies sat neatly organized beside a kettle.

Everything felt calm.

Peaceful.

Which only made Jules more aware of how chaotic her own thoughts were.

Leo had helped her walk here.

She was getting better.

Slowly.

Painfully slowly.

But better.

Today she'd almost made it without needing him to steady her.

Almost.

Before leaving, he'd quietly positioned a thick training block behind her cushion.

Something to lean against if she got tired.

Which was annoyingly thoughtful.

Splinter moved around the room lighting candles.

Then incense.

Then adjusting cushions.

All without saying a word.

Like he'd performed this ritual hundreds of times before.

Finally he settled himself across from her.

"Are you ready?"

"Not really."

A small hum escaped him.

"It is alright to be nervous."

"I don't really know what to expect."

"Neither do I."

That wasn't reassuring.

Splinter folded his hands together.

"We do not know what your mind has chosen to suppress."

Jules felt her stomach tighten.

Right.

That.

The memories.

The reason she was here.

The thing she'd been obsessing over.

"What if I remember something bad?"

Splinter smiled gently.

"My child, if your mind buried it, it was likely bad already."

Well.

That was honest.

"Great."

"It is also already inside you."

That made her pause.

"You are not creating anything new. You are only exploring what already exists."

Jules took a breath.

"Okay."

"Close your eyes."

She obeyed.

"Focus on your breathing."

The room faded away.

"In."

She inhaled.

"Out."

Exhaled.

"In."

Out.

Again.

Splinter's voice became distant.

Steady.

Comforting.

"When thoughts arise, acknowledge them."

A memory surfaced.

Leo laughing.

"Then let them pass."

Gone.

Another.

The scar.

Gone.

Again.

And again.

It was impossible.

Jules was always thinking.

Always planning.

Always analyzing.

Her brain never shut up.

Yet she kept trying.

Minutes passed.

Or hours.

She honestly couldn't tell.

Her back started aching.

Her legs went numb.

The pressure in her head returned.

Her breathing became uneven.

The ringing in her ears started creeping back.

Then—

"We can stop."

Jules opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I really was trying."

Splinter smiled.

"It is not failure when your body tells you it has had enough."

Jules looked down.

"It feels like failure."

"It is wisdom."

He rose slowly.

"Do not push yourself beyond your limits."

He offered her a hand.

Jules accepted it.

Then immediately regretted sitting cross-legged for what felt like an entire lifetime.

Everything hurt.

---

By the time she left the room, her legs felt like wet noodles.

Splinter had offered to fetch Leo.

Jules had stubbornly declined.

Which had seemed like a good idea approximately ten minutes ago.

Now she was reconsidering.

Heavily.

The kitchen island was only twenty feet away.

Maybe thirty.

Maybe three hundred.

She leaned against it breathing hard.

Her arms shook.

Her thighs trembled.

The meditation had apparently taken more out of her than she realized.

"Come on."

She pushed off the counter.

One step.

Fine.

Second step.

Not fine.

Her knee nearly buckled.

Jules grabbed the countertop again.

Okay.

This was embarrassing.

Very embarrassing.

She closed her eyes.

Maybe if she waited—

No.

Waiting meant standing.

Standing meant falling.

Which left exactly one option.

"...Leo?"

Nothing.

She hated this.

"Leo."

Louder this time.

The shaking worsened.

"Leo!"

The response was immediate.

"What are you doing?!"

Jules opened her eyes.

Leo was already running toward her.

"I was just—"

Her legs gave out.

The floor rushed upward.

And never arrived.

Leo caught her before she fell.

One arm around her back.

The other under her knees.

Jules sucked in a breath.

Not because she was hurt.

Because she was suddenly very aware of how close he was.

Leo lifted her effortlessly.

Like she weighed nothing.

And okay.

Maybe she'd noticed that before.

But this felt different.

Because he'd been so careful lately.

So cautious.

Always helping.

Never touching more than necessary.

Always making sure she was comfortable.

Now she was practically pressed against him.

And—

He was so... solid.

Very solid.

"Jules."

His voice pulled her back.

"What?"

"You should have called me."

"I did."

"Before you left the room."

"I thought I could make it."

"After three hours of meditation?"

She blinked.

"Three hours?"

Leo stared.

"You didn't notice?"

"No."

His expression said he was reconsidering every life choice that led him here.

"What if you'd fallen?"

"I wouldn't have."

"You were literally falling."

"Yeah."

Jules smiled.

"But I have you."

Leo froze.

Oops.

Did that sound like flirting?

It sounded like flirting.

And based on the slight blush appearing on his face—

Yeah.

Definitely flirting.

"And you're always there."

The blush deepened.

Jules nearly grinned.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"You're like my own personal savior."

Leo cleared his throat.

Very loudly.

"Maybe don't make a habit of collapsing."

"No promises."

He muttered something she couldn't hear.

---

By the time they reached the medbay, Jules was exhausted.

Leo settled her into bed.

Adjusted her pillows.

Adjusted her blanket.

Adjusted literally everything.

Then stood there.

"Do you need anything?"

"No."

"How's your head?"

"Fine."

He didn't believe her.

She could tell.

"Leo?"

"Hm?"

He was currently removing her socks.

Which felt oddly domestic.

"Will you tell me about that night?"

Everything stopped.

Leo looked up.

The softness disappeared.

Not completely.

Just enough.

"Not tonight."

"Please?"

"You're tired."

"I need answers."

"You need sleep."

"You can't coddle me forever."

A sad smile appeared.

"I know."

"Then tell me."

"I can at least coddle you until you can walk without falling over."

Jules shoved his arm.

It had absolutely no effect.

Leo looked far too pleased with himself.

"Get some rest."

"I don't want to."

He sighed.

"What do you want?"

Jules thought.

Then shrugged.

"I don't know."

A pause.

"Tell me something."

"Like what?"

"Did you read any good books while I was gone?"

"No."

"Nothing?"

"Not really."

"You are unbelievably boring."

"That's not news."

Jules smiled.

"Then tell me about your favorite one."

Leo settled into the chair beside her.

And started talking.

At first reluctantly.

Then more naturally.

And slowly—

Without even realizing it—

Jules fell asleep listening to his voice.

---

Darkness.

Cold.

A flash.

White.

Metal.

A door slamming.

The sound echoed.

Loud.

Heavy.

Somewhere far away—

A voice.

"Nineteen."

White again.

"Trolley."

Concrete.

Darkness.

Fear.

So much fear.

Her chest tightened.

Something was there.

Watching.

Waiting.

She couldn't see it.

But she could feel it.

Feel the terror crawling beneath her skin.

The room.

The door.

The voice.

It was important.

She knew it was important.

Wait.

Stop.

Please—

Help.

The darkness surged forward.

And the dream swallowed her whole.

Chapter 42: Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Chapter 15 – Leo

Leo felt the sound before he understood it.

It ripped through the lair.

Through the walls.

Through his bones.

His stomach dropped.

His heart nearly stopped.

Screaming.

High-pitched.

Desperate.

Panicked.

Wrong.

Leo had been standing in the living area with Mikey when it started.

For a split second neither of grasped what it was.

Then Leo recognized the voice.

Jules.

Every thought vanished.

Get to her.

He was already running.

When Leo burst through the medbay doors Jules was still screaming.

The sound sent ice through his veins.

She thrashed violently on the bed.

The blankets tangled around her legs.

Her arms flailed wildly.

Like she was fighting someone.

Like she was trapped.

Like she was losing.

"Jules!"

No response.

Her eyes were squeezed shut.

Tears streamed down her face.

Leo reached the bed.

"Jules!"

Nothing.

She looked terrified.

Absolutely terrified.

Like whatever she was seeing was real.

Leo grabbed her shoulders.

Immediately she swung.

Her fist connected with his jaw.

Hard.

Leo barely noticed.

She kicked next.

Caught him in the ribs.

Then his arm.

Then somewhere near his shoulder.

She was fighting with everything she had.

"No! Stop! Please!"

The words ripped out of her.

Leo's heart shattered.

"Jules!"

Still nothing.

He pulled her upright.

Her body fought him every inch of the way.

"Juliet!"

Nothing.

"Juliet!"

Then finally—

"LEO!"

Her eyes snapped open.

Wild.

Panicked.

Searching.

Leo grabbed her face gently.

"Jules."

Her breathing hitched.

"Jules, sweetheart, I'm here."

The fight drained out of her instantly.

Like someone cut the strings holding her up.

Her eyes locked onto his.

Recognition.

Relief.

Then devastation.

"Leo..."

Her voice cracked.

Trembled.

Broke.

Tears overflowed immediately.

"Leo..."

The way she said his name nearly killed him.

Her hands shot forward.

Gripping his arms.

Anything she could reach.

And Leo didn't hesitate.

He pulled her against him.

Held her tightly.

One arm around her shoulders.

One hand cradling the back of her head.

"It's okay."

Her face buried itself against his chest.

"It's okay."

The words felt useless.

Tiny.

Meaningless.

But he kept saying them anyway.

"It's okay."

She cried quietly into his chest.

Holding onto him like a lifeline.

Leo felt every tremor.

Every shaky breath.

Every broken sound.

His heart hurt in a way he couldn't explain.

Not like the hospital.

Not like losing her.

Something different.

Because she was here.

Alive.

And still suffering.

Movement caught his attention.

Mikey stood in the doorway.

Concern etched across his face.

Behind him stood Donnie.

Then Raph.

All three had obviously come running.

All three had heard.

Jules would be horrified.

Leo knew it.

He looked toward Mikey.

A silent plea.

Please.

Mikey understood immediately.

He nodded once.

Touched Raph's shoulder.

Then Donnie's.

Without a word the three of them backed away.

The door clicked softly shut behind them.

Privacy.

Leo let out a breath.

Jules' crying slowly eased.

Eventually it became sniffles.

Then shaky breaths.

Then silence.

Leo continued rubbing small shapes across her back.

Something he'd started doing without realizing.

Circles.

Lines.

Random patterns.

Anything soothing.

Anything grounding.

"It's okay."

She didn't answer.

He didn't expect her to.

Several minutes passed.

Then—

"Please don't leave."

The words were barely audible.

So quiet he almost missed them.

Whether she'd meant him to hear them or not he didn't know.

Leo tightened his arms around her.

Then softer.

"I'm here."

Eventually her breathing evened out.

Her grip loosened.

She fell asleep against him.

---

Leo didn't sleep.

Not even close.

He sat there holding her for hours.

Listening.

Watching.

Waiting.

Every twitch made him tense.

Every shift made his heart jump.

The scream replayed endlessly in his head.

Again.

And again.

By three in the morning he noticed the marks.

Small crescent indents across his forearm.

Bruises beginning to form.

Her fingernails.

She'd been gripping him that hard.

Leo traced one of them.

His chest tightened.

What had she seen?

What had happened to her?

What kind of fear stayed buried so deep that it could still drag her into panic months later?

He looked down at her sleeping face.

Wishing there was someway he could help her.

---

Morning arrived slowly.

Jules stirred.

Leo was already awake.

She blinked up at him.

Still sleepy.

Still exhausted.

"Hey."

She looked around.

Then back at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

Leo stared.

She sighed.

"Okay, not fine... My head feels like it's going to explode."

Her voice sounded weak.

Tired.

Leo immediately grabbed her water.

"Here."

She drank.

Then leaned back.

Eyes closing briefly.

"Maybe we should talk to Vincent."

"The chief?"

"She might be able to get us access to some imaging equipment."

Jules looked thoughtful.

"Oh."

"It's just an option."

"No."

She looked down.

"It's a good idea."

"But?"

"I don't want to see a doctor."

The admission came quietly.

Leo understood immediately.

Hospitals.

Tests.

Unknown people.

After everything she'd been through?

Yeah.

He understood.

"Maybe Donnie and I can figure out the machine."

Her eyes immediately brightened.

Hopeful.

Leo couldn't help smiling.

"We'll work something out."

"Thank you."

Leo's heart did the all too familiar skip.

"Do you remember last night?"

Her face became serious. Like she was concentrating on remembering.

"I remember a light... I remember you shouting my name... and then you were there and I was crying..."

"Do you remember your dream?"

Jules shook her head. A worried look creasing around her eyes

"It's okay." Leo said softly.

A soft knock interrupted them.

Mikey appeared carrying enough food for six people.

"Morning, Sugarpie."

The tray was absurd.

Pancakes.

Fruit.

Bacon.

Juice.

Coffee.

Water.

Probably an entire grocery store hidden somewhere underneath.

"Mikey."

Jules blinked.

"I can't eat all of this."

"That's okay."

He set it down proudly.

"Just eat as much as you want."

For the next half hour Mikey did what Mikey always did best.

He made things normal.

He joked.

Told ridiculous stories.

Made Jules laugh.

Made her smile.

Leo found himself relaxing.

Just a little.

Every smile felt like a victory.

Every laugh made the nightmare feel farther away.

Not gone.

Just farther.

---

Donnie eventually entered.

"How are we doing?"

"Her head hurts again," Leo answered immediately.

Jules rolled her eyes.

Donnie nodded.

"I'll grab you something stronger than normal."

After she took the medication Donnie looked toward Leo.

"Got a minute?"

Leo glanced toward Mikey.

"All good here."

Mikey gave him a thumbs up.

Leo followed Donnie.

The lab was quiet.

Donnie pulled up several files.

"What happened last night wasn't normal."

Leo folded his arms.

"A nightmare?"

"Probably not."

Donnie turned the monitor.

"A nightmare happens during REM sleep."

He pointed at the chart.

"A night terror happens during deep sleep."

Leo frowned.

"Difference?"

"A nightmare wakes you up."

Donnie looked serious.

"A night terror doesn't."

Leo felt his stomach drop.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning she wasn't awake."

The image of her screaming flashed through his mind.

"She was still asleep."

Leo looked away.

"What can we do?"

Donnie hesitated.

"I don't know."

That answer sucked.

They both knew it.

"What about the headaches?"

That got Donnie moving again.

He pulled up another chart.

"This is what worries me."

Rows.

Dates.

Notes.

Patterns.

Every headache logged since she'd awakened.

Every single one.

"They should be improving."

"They aren't."

"No."

Donnie pointed.

"Not even a little."

Leo stared.

Every day.

Sometimes multiple times.

"What about the others?"

"Vincent's results came back."

Donnie clicked another file.

"Some headaches."

"Some dizziness."

"Some memory problems."

Leo frowned.

"But?"

"Nobody has them as frequently as Jules."

Silence.

"What tests would you run?"

Donnie didn't hesitate.

"Bloodwork again for sure. A CT or MRI would probably tell us more."

Leo nodded.

"Can you do them?"

Donnie laughed.

"Technically?"

"Yes."

"Realistically?"

"No."

He spread his hands.

"I don't exactly have a hospital hidden in my bedroom."

Leo held out his hand.

"Phone."

Donnie blinked.

Then handed it over.

"What are you doing?"

Leo was already dialing.

The line picked up.

"Chief?"

A pause.

"It's Leonardo."

Leo glanced toward Donnie.

Then back toward the phone.

"I need access to your patient lab."

Another pause.

"A CT machine."

"And an MRI."

Donnie's eyes widened.

Vincent asked several questions.

Leo answered every one.

Finally—

"Tonight?"

He nodded.

"Perfect."

Then hung up.

Donnie stared.

"What did she say?"

Leo handed the phone back.

"Brush up on your training."

Donnie frowned.

"Why?"

A small smile tugged at Leo's mouth.

"Because tonight, Doctor..."

He pointed toward the monitor.

"You're getting your hospital."

Chapter 43: Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Chapter 16 - Jules

Jules sat on the couch watching Leo kneel in front of her.

He was pulling her shoes onto her feet with the same concentration he gave almost everything lately.

She thought it was kind of pointless.

Leo was probably going to carry her the whole trip anyway.

Still.

Something about it made her smile.

"Ready?" he asked.

Jules nodded.

Without another word he slid one arm behind her knees and the other around her back and lifted her effortlessly.

The movement had become familiar enough that she no longer protested.

He carried her into the main room where his brothers were already gathered.

"Is the lab ready?" Leo asked.

Donnie glanced up from his tablet.

"Chief Vincent confirmed all victims and aides have been relocated to the east wing. The lab is clear."

"Alright," Leo said. "Let's move."

Jules loved rooftop travel.

Even now.

The cold wind brushed against her face as Leo leapt from building to building.

The city stretched endlessly beneath them.

Lights.

Traffic.

Life.

For a few moments she forgot about headaches and missing memories.

Forgot about recovery.

Forgot about everything.

She tightened her grip around Leo's neck.

He adjusted his hold on her automatically.

The journey was short.

Too short.

Soon they were dropping into the secured laboratory.

And then the fun was over.

---

The next several hours were miserable.

Donnie seemed determined to test every machine in existence.

CT scans.

MRI scans.

Blood work.

Machines Jules couldn't even identify.

At one point she was fairly certain Donnie was making some of them up.

"You enjoy this way too much," she informed him.

Donnie looked genuinely offended.

"I am conducting science."

"You're treating me like a lab rat."

"An important distinction."

Leo snorted.

Donnie looked pleased with himself.

Jules rolled her eyes.

By the time they finished she was exhausted.

Completely exhausted.

"Let's go," Leo said.

"No."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"We have to wait for the results."

"That could take several hours." Donnie said not looking up from the computer he occupied.

Jules immediately deflated.

"Hours?"

"Several."

She groaned.

Leo bent down and picked her up before she could argue.

"Let's go."

---

Back in the lair Leo helped her settle into bed.

Blanket.

Water.

Pillow.

The usual routine.

He was adjusting the blanket when Jules spoke.

"Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about that night?"

Everything stopped.

Leo froze.

The blanket still in his hands.

"Not now."

"Please."

"You had a rough night."

"Leo."

"And you had a long day."

"You're making excuses."

His jaw tightened.

"No. I'm making reasonable arguments."

"So you agree this is turning into an argument."

"What? No."

"So just tell me."

"No."

Jules stared at him.

"Please."

Leo looked away.

Immediately.

And somehow that made it worse.

"I feel like I'm missing something."

Silence.

"There's this giant hole in my life."

Still silence.

"I get flashes of things I don't understand."

Leo's shoulders tensed.

"You know some of the answers."

His eyes shut.

"And you won't tell me."

"I can't."

The words came out rough.

Jules frowned.

"Why?"

"Jules—"

"Why?"

"Please."

"Leo, I feel like I lost something important."

His breathing changed.

Something in his expression cracked.

"Jules..."

"Why?!"

The word echoed through the room.

And suddenly Leo snapped.

"Because you died!"

The room went silent.

Jules stared.

Leo looked horrified.

Like he regretted the words immediately.

But they kept coming anyway.

"You want to know about the worst night of my life?"

His voice shook.

"You want to know about the night I made mistakes I can't ever take back?"

Jules couldn't move.

"The night I watched a blade rip through your stomach?"

His throat worked.

"The night I held you while you died?"

His eyes were shining now.

And Jules had never seen him look like this.

Never.

"I can't."

The words sounded painful.

Physically painful.

"I can't talk about it."

He looked away.

"I relived that night over and over for months."

His voice broke.

"You may want to remember."

Silence.

"You may need to remember."

Another pause.

Then—

"But I would give anything to forget."

Jules felt every ounce of anger disappear.

Because suddenly she understood.

Not what happened.

Not the details.

Him.

The pain.

The guilt.

The fear.

Whatever happened that night hadn't ended for him.

It was still happening.

Every day.

"Okay..."

His eyes dropped to the floor.

"Okay."

She reached out and touched his arm.

"I'm sorry."

Leo looked exhausted.

Destroyed.

A look she'd never seen on him before.

"I lost you," he said quietly.

Jules rubbed his arm gently.

"I'm here."

Leo swallowed.

Then reached up and took her hand.

Holding it tightly.

Like he needed proof.

And for a while neither of them said anything.

---

Jules sat once again in Splinter's meditation room.

The space was quiet.

Peaceful.

The small fountain trickled softly nearby.

"Our treatment is working," Splinter said.

Jules blinked.

"What? How do you know?"

"You have begun remembering."

"I haven't remembered anything."

Splinter smiled slightly.

"You have begun clearing the fog."

"The nightmare?"

Splinter nodded.

"You will remember more."

Jules swallowed.

She wasn't sure if that was comforting or terrifying.

"Let us begin."

"Close your eyes."

Jules obeyed.

"Focus on your breathing."

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The familiar rhythm settled over her.

"Good."

Splinter's voice remained calm.

"Now follow the roads your mind presents."

The darkness behind her eyelids shifted.

Something appeared.

A building.

Music.

A man.

Then—

A presence.

Waiting.

Something warm.

Something blue.

Blue.

Pain exploded through her skull.

A ringing noise.

White flashes.

Jules gasped and her eyes flew open.

Her head throbbed.

Splinter was immediately beside her.

"Breathe."

Jules forced air into her lungs.

What was that?

What had she seen?

"Take your time," Splinter said.

"Tell me what you remember."

Jules swallowed.

"A building."

She closed her eyes again.

"A computer maybe."

Fragments surfaced.

"A hand."

She shuddered.

"Dirty fingernails."

More flashes.

Blue.

Blue eyes.

Leo.

She saw his face.

Saw him looking at her.

Upset.

Shocked.

There had been shouting.

Hadn't there?

Then—

A flash.

His hands on her face.

The memory hit like lightning.

Warmth.

Pressure.

Then—

Lips.

Soft.

Careful.

Real.

Not imagined.

Not dreamed.

Real

His lips.

Her breath caught.

No.

That wasn't right.

It couldn't be.

But suddenly it was crystal clear.

The look on his face afterward.

The shock.

The panic.

The realization.

Her heart started racing.

No.

There's no way.

But she knew.

She knew.

The memory wasn't imagined.

It was real.

"You have remembered something."

Splinter's voice sounded distant.

Jules stared at the floor.

Trying to process it.

Trying to understand it.

Trying to understand why a part of her wasn't surprised.

"I think..."

She swallowed.

"I think it's something I've known all along."

Chapter 44: Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 - Leo

Leo stood in his room staring at the bed.

Not long ago Jules had barely been able to sit up on her own.

Now she was walking short distances.

Slowly.

Stubbornly.

But walking.

She deserved her space back.

So while Splinter worked with her on meditation, Leo had started moving her things upstairs.

The blanket sat folded at the foot of the bed.

Technically it was his blanket.

In reality it had become hers months ago.

He adjusted a few things on the desk.

Moved some books.

Cleared more room.

Then he crossed toward his katanas.

As he lifted them, something caught his eye.

A small corner of paper.

Leo froze.

Slowly he pulled it free.

Let's talk.

The note stared back at him.

His chest tightened.

They hadn't talked.

Not really.

Not about any of it.

Not about Whitmore.

Not about the fight.

Not about the kiss.

Not about what happened afterward.

Jules had asked.

And he'd panicked.

He couldn't talk about her death.

Even thinking about it felt like reopening a wound that had never healed.

But he needed to tell her everything that happened before.

How Whitmore warned him.

How he'd convinced himself it was a lie.

How angry he'd gotten.

How he'd kissed her.

How he'd let her walk away alone.

His grip tightened around the paper.

He knew he had to tell her.

He just...

He'd only just gotten her back.

What if telling her changed things?

What if she stopped looking at him the way she did now?

What if she pulled away?

What if she regretted ever getting close to him?

The thought made his stomach twist.

He was being selfish.

He knew that.

But after nine months of believing she was dead—

selfish came easier than letting her go.

The door opened.

Leo looked up.

And forgot how to breathe.

Jules stood in the doorway.

Alive.

The girl who literally fell into his life.

The girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

The girl he never should have allowed himself to want.

"Hey," he said quietly.

His voice sounded strange.

"I was just getting the room ready. I figured maybe we could move you back up here."

Jules didn't answer.

She stayed where she was.

Watching him.

Leo immediately straightened.

"How was meditation?"

Nothing.

"Do you need something for your head?"

Still nothing.

A knot formed in his stomach.

"Jules?"

Her eyes never left him.

Then—

"You kissed me."

Everything stopped.

The room.

The air.

His heart.

Cold dread washed through him.

No.

Not yet.

He wasn't ready.

But the memory had come back.

Of course it had.

"You kissed me," she repeated.

"The night it happened."

Leo looked at the floor.

Coward.

The word echoed through his mind.

You were a coward then.

Don't be one now.

He swallowed.

"I did."

Silence.

Jules blinked.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Like she already knew the answer but still couldn't quite believe it.

Leo forced himself to continue.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Where do I start?

Because I crossed a line.

Because I wanted more.

Because I let myself believe I could have more.

Because I lost you.

"It never should have happened."

Jules frowned.

"It was selfish."

"What was?"

"The kiss."

She stared.

Leo looked away.

"I knew better."

"Better than what?"

His chest felt tight.

Like every word hurt.

"Jules."

He finally looked at her.

"I know who I am."

Her expression softened.

"I know what I am."

She opened her mouth.

Leo kept going before she could interrupt.

"I'm proud of who I am."

His voice cracked slightly.

"I'm proud of my family. Proud of my brothers. Proud of the life we've built."

He swallowed.

"But I also know what comes with it."

Jules didn't move.

"People like me don't get normal lives."

The words sounded pathetic out loud.

But they were true.

"We don't get normal relationships."

"Leo—"

"We don't."

His voice rose.

Not angry.

Desperate.

"We don't get futures like that."

He ran a hand over his face.

"And I knew that."

Silence.

"I knew it."

His voice dropped.

"And I kissed you anyway."

The room went quiet.

"I took something I knew I could never have."

His eyes burned.

"And then I ran away."

Jules stared at him.

"I kissed you."

He looked down.

"And then I hid from you."

The words hurt.

"I hid because I didn't know what to do."

His throat tightened.

"You came looking for me."

He could barely get the words out.

"And I wasn't there."

Silence.

"You went home alone."

Leo's voice broke.

"And then..."

He couldn't finish.

The memory threatened to swallow him whole.

Jules was quiet for a long moment.

Then—

"You kissed me."

Leo squeezed his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry."

"Try again."

His eyes opened.

"What?"

Jules took a step forward.

"Try again."

Leo stared.

His brain completely failing him.

"What?"

She stopped right in front of him.

Close.

Way too close.

"Will you try again?"

His heart slammed against his ribs.

He couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Couldn't process what she was saying.

"Jules..."

Her hand found his.

Warm.

Real.

She guided it toward her waist.

Leo nearly short-circuited.

"Please."

The word was barely a whisper.

Leo stared at her.

At her eyes.

At the way she looked at him.

Not afraid.

Not confused.

Not pulling away.

Wanting.

There's no way.

This isn't happening.

Leo's hand tightened against her hip.

Not enough to pull her closer.

Just enough to make sure she was real.

Because part of him still expected to wake up.

Expected this to be another cruel dream.

Jules looked up at him.

Waiting.

Patient.

Like she had all the time in the world.

Leo didn't.

His heart was trying to break through his ribs.

Every thought in his head was tangled together.

Fear.

Hope.

Relief.

Want

So much want.

He lifted his hand to her face.

His thumb brushed her cheek.

Warm.

Real.

Alive.

Jules leaned into the touch.

And that tiny movement shattered whatever restraint he had left.

Leo kissed her.

Quickly.

Like he'd lose his nerve if he waited another second.

For one impossible moment everything went quiet.

No headaches.

No missing months.

No Foot Clan.

No guilt.

Just Jules.

Her lips were soft against his.

Familiar in a way that made his chest ache.

He felt her inhale sharply.

Then she kissed him back.

Not hesitant.

Not uncertain.

His hand on her hip tightened slightly.

Jules moved and he felt her tongue graze his lips.

He gasped.

She used his surprise to start gently exploring.

Holy shit.

Wait.

Leo broke off, letting go of her hip and removing the one by her face.

His forehead nearly touching hers.

He was breathing hard.

Trying—and failing—to remember how oxygen worked.

Jules looked just as affected.

Cheeks pink.

Eyes bright.

Beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

Leo took a moment to try and calm himself.

"Can I..." Leo swallowed.

His voice barely worked.

"Can I try again?"

A smile tugged at Jules' lips.

"Yes."

The answer left him helpless.

This time he gave her every chance to stop him.

To change her mind.

To step back.

She didn't.

Instead her hand slid up his arm.

A silent answer.

Leo let out a shaky breath.

Then kissed her again.

Slower.

At first.

Like he was learning something precious by heart.

One hand settled at her waist.

The other slid into her hair, threading through the soft strands as he gently pulled her closer.

Like he was still afraid she'd disappear.

Jules stepped closer.

The small movement enough to make Leo's heart stumble.

For the first time since he'd gotten her back—

for the first time in months—

the fear quieted.

Not completely.

Maybe it never would.

But enough.

Enough that he stopped thinking.

Stopped questioning.

Stopped trying to convince himself he didn't want this.

Jules' fingers curled against his arm.

Leo attempted to trace the crease of her lips.

She opened for him and started tasting him.

Leo couldn't hold back the noise that escaped him.

Desperate.

Weak.

Bordering on a whimper.

Leo lost track of everything except her

She was so good.

Beyond anything he had ever imagined.

He felt Jules smile against his mouth.

Then she pulled away.

And Leo nearly died on the spot.

She stoof there looking at him like she actually wanted him.

"I..." Leo swallowed.

His brain refused to function.

"How are you..."

He couldn't even finish the sentence.

Jules smiled.

A small, knowing smile.

Then she rose onto her toes and kissed him again.

Holy shit.

Chapter 45: Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Chapter 18 – Leo

Leo walked into the lab and immediately spotted Donnie waiting for him.

He knew he would be.

Donnie had texted him earlier that morning.

Finished the scans.

Normally that message would've kept Leo awake all night.

Instead...

He hadn't slept much for an entirely different reason.

Every time he closed his eyes he saw Jules.

Jules smiling.

Jules laughing.

Jules standing in his room.

'You kissed me.'

Leo immediately felt his face heat up.

Again.

It had been happening all morning.

They kissed.

A lot.

The memory replayed on a loop in his head.

The way she'd stepped closer.

The way she'd looked at him.

The way she'd asked him to do it again.

His stomach immediately fluttered.

God.

He was hopeless.

For the first time in almost a year Leo felt...

Happy.

Actually happy.

Not relieved.

Not distracted.

Not pretending.

Happy.

Which should've felt amazing.

Instead a small voice kept whispering in the back of his mind.

She was curious.

That's all.

She needed someone.

You were there.

Leo knew the voice was ridiculous.

He knew it.

But it wouldn't shut up.

Because he still didn't know what any of this meant.

Didn't know what Jules wanted.

Didn't know if last night changed everything.

Or nothing.

And there was absolutely no way he could talk to anyone about it.

Not Jules.

Not Splinter.

Definitely not his brothers.

"Hey remember that girl I've been obsessed with since she literally fell into our lives? Ya, I kissed her the night she died, but don't worry, she asked me to kiss her again."

Absolutely not.

Leo would rather fight Shredder barehanded.

So he buried it.

Like everything else.

And walked into the lab.

Then he saw Donnie's face.

And immediately knew something was wrong.

The happiness vanished.

"What happened?"

Donnie hesitated.

"I got all the results back."

Leo's stomach dropped.

"Okay."

He nodded.

"Okay."

His pulse sped up.

"Something's wrong."

"Leo—"

"A tumor?"

Donnie blinked.

"What?"

"A brain bleed?"

"Leo—"

"An infection? Is it the surgery? Is it—"

"Leo."

Donnie's voice finally cut through.

Leo stopped.

Forced himself to breathe.

Donnie rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes and no."

Leo hated that answer immediately.

"What does that mean?"

"Jules has symptoms."

Donnie pulled up several scans.

"The headaches."

Another image.

"The nightmares."

Another.

"The memory loss."

Leo crossed his arms.

"And?"

Donnie looked uncomfortable.

"Everything is normal."

Leo stared.

"What?"

"Her CT."

Click.

"Normal."

Another image.

"MRI."

Click.

"Normal."

Another.

"Bloodwork."

Click.

"Normal."

Leo frowned.

"That's impossible."

"That's what I said."

Leo stepped closer.

"She has headaches every day."

"I know."

"She wakes up screaming."

"I know."

"Then how are the results normal?"

Donnie sighed.

"That's the problem."

Silence settled between them.

Leo stared at the images.

None of it made sense.

None of it.

"Theoretically," Donnie said carefully, "you could argue it's trauma."

Leo didn't answer.

"Maybe stress."

Still nothing.

"Maybe—"

"You don't believe that."

Donnie looked up.

"No."

Neither did he.

Donnie pulled up another chart.

"I've been tracking the headaches."

Leo moved closer.

"They aren't random."

"No."

"They spike when she gets emotional."

Leo nodded.

"When she remembers something."

Another nod.

"When she pushes herself."

Leo stared at the screen.

"What about the surgery?"

Donnie looked frustrated.

"That's the other weird part."

Leo waited.

"There should be evidence."

"Evidence?"

"Scar tissue."

Donnie pointed.

"Nerve damage."

Another point.

"Healed tissue."

Another.

"Something."

Leo felt cold.

"But?"

Donnie looked at him.

"There isn't."

Leo blinked.

"What?"

"The scars are there."

Donnie zoomed in.

"But internally?"

Nothing.

"There's no evidence surgery ever happened."

Leo hated that sentence.

Hated it.

Because it made no sense.

And Leo hated things he couldn't understand.

Especially when Jules was involved.

Donnie shifted awkwardly.

Leo immediately noticed.

"What?"

Donnie rubbed the back of his neck.

"So... I was thinking."

Leo crossed his arms.

Donnie continued before Leo could interrupt.

"I know we agreed to keep Jules' condition contained and I know we don't want people knowing she's alive and I know we definitely don't want random doctors involved and technically she's not even my patient because I'm not actually licensed and—"

"Donnie."

"I'm just saying that if someone happened to look at the scans—hypothetically—and that someone was very smart and happened to know more about neurological imaging than I do—"

"Don."

"And if that person also happened to be discreet—"

"Donnie."

He finally stopped.

Leo stared at him.

Donnie stared back.

Silence.

Then—

"I want to send the scans to a friend."

There it was.

"A friend?"

"Acquaintance."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Friend of a friend."

"Donnie."

"Fine. Mostly friend."

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Who?"

"A scientist."

That was not reassuring.

Donnie immediately saw the look on his face.

"Not a mad scientist."

"You know the fact that you had to clarify that isn't helping."

"She's good. Really good."

Leo remained silent.

Donnie shifted again.

"I can't find anything wrong."

Donnie looked back at the scans.

"That's the problem."

Leo followed his gaze.

"Everything says she's fine, but she isn't."

"No."

"She has headaches every day."

"I know."

"Night terrors."

"I know."

"Memory gaps."

Leo's jaw tightened.

"I know."

Donnie swallowed.

"I think someone else should look at the scans."

Leo stared at the images.

At all the answers they still didn't have.

At the complete lack of explanation.

Then he looked back at his brother.

"Send them."

Donnie blinked.

"Really?"

"At this point I don't care who finds the answer."

His eyes drifted back toward the hallway leading to his room.

"I just want to help her."

A moment later the lab doors opened.

Mikey and Raph entered.

"How's Sugarpie?"

"Still asleep."

Mikey nodded.

"Medbay?"

"No."

Leo looked away.

"I moved her back into my room."

All three brothers shared a look.

Leo immediately hated it.

Because now he was wondering if they somehow knew.

Which was ridiculous.

Nobody knew.

Right?

"...What?" Leo asked.

Mikey shrugged.

"Nothin'."

Raph crossed his arms.

"Did you sleep?"

"Yes."

Lie.

"Where?"

Leo froze.

Because technically...

He had slept in bed.

With Jules.

Well.

Mostly he'd laid there staring at the ceiling while Jules slept curled against him.

But still.

Not information he intended to share.

"...Fine. I didn't."

The three of them exchanged a look.

A look Leo didn't like.

Immediately.

"What?"

Nobody answered.

"What?"

Donnie suddenly became fascinated with his computer.

Mikey was the first one to break the tension.

"So..." he said slowly.

Leo didn't like that tone.

"So?" he repeated.

Mikey pointed at him.

"You've been weird."

Leo stared.

Leo crossed his arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't."

Mikey leaned back dramatically.

"You hover."

"I do not hover."

"You absolutely hover."

Donnie nodded.

"You hover."

Raph pointed at Donnie.

"See? Science confirmed it."

Leo rubbed his forehead.

"I am not hovering."

Mikey immediately started counting on his fingers.

"You sit with her when she eats."

"Because she forgets."

"You walk her everywhere."

"Because she falls."

"You stay with her when she sleeps."

Leo opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Mikey pointed triumphantly.

"HA."

"That one doesn't count."

"It absolutely counts."

Leo groaned.

Raph shook his head.

"We're not giving you crap because of Jules."

"Then why?"

"Because you're running yourself into the ground."

That killed most of the humor.

Leo looked away.

Nobody spoke for a second.

Donnie finally broke the silence.

"You don't sleep."

"I sleep."

"Barely."

"You skip meals."

"I'm fine."

"You haven't been fine in almost a year."

Leo flinched.

Not visibly.

But enough that his brothers noticed.

Mikey's voice softened.

"Leo..."

Leo looked down at the floor.

He hated this conversation.

Because they weren't wrong.

Not about any of it.

"I lost her."

The words came out quieter than he intended.

Nobody interrupted.

"And now she's back."

His throat tightened.

"I know she's here."

He swallowed.

"I know she's alive."

His hands clenched.

"But every time I leave a room I think something is going to happen."

Nobody laughed.

Nobody teased.

"I know it's irrational."

"Maybe a little," Raph admitted.

Leo huffed out a breath.

"But I can't stop thinking it."

His brothers exchanged a glance.

The kind they always exchanged when they were all thinking the same thing.

Mikey stepped forward first.

"You don't have to carry all of this yourself."

Leo laughed softly.

"We're just saying..."

He shrugged.

"We need you back too."

That hit harder than Leo expected.

For a second he couldn't say anything.

Raph looked away before speaking.

"You disappeared after she died."

Leo froze.

"We know why."

Raph shrugged.

"But it still sucked."

Donnie nodded.

"A lot."

"You were there," Mikey said quietly.

"But you weren't."

Leo stared at them.

Guilt twisted in his chest.

Because they were right.

They'd spent months trying to pull him back.

And he'd barely noticed.

"I know."

His voice came out rough.

"I know."

The room went quiet again.

Then Donnie suddenly pointed at him.

"Also."

Leo immediately narrowed his eyes.

"You absolutely hover."

Mikey burst out laughing.

"THANK YOU."

Raph smirked.

"Dude practically has separation anxiety."

"I do not."

"You tracked how long she meditated."

"That's different."

"You counted."

"That was for medical reasons."

"You timed it."

"It was relevant."

Mikey was laughing so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

Leo felt his face heat up.

Which only made things worse.

"Oh my God," Mikey gasped.

"He's embarrassed."

"I am not embarrassed."

"You are."

"I am not."

Raph grinned.

"He's embarrassed."

Leo hated all of them.

Every single one.

For the first time in months he felt normal.

Maybe...

Maybe he should tell them.

Maybe he should tell them everything.

About Jules.

About the kiss.

About—

"Guys."

The brothers looked up.

Leo took a breath, bracing himself.

"You should know that—"

"Leo!"

The shout echoed through the lair.

Everything stopped.

Leo froze.

That wasn't right.

The voice was weak.

Broken.

Painful.

"Leo!"

His heart dropped.

He was moving before anyone else reacted.

One second he was in the lab.

The next he was sprinting through the halls.

Please.

Jules stood in the doorway of his room.

Barely.

One hand clung desperately to the frame.

The other gripped her head.

"Jules!"

She looked up.

Tears streamed down her face.

"My head."

Her voice cracked.

"My head."

Leo reached her.

Immediately.

"What happened?"

"My head."

She was crying now.

"My head."

Then he saw the blood.

A thin stream dripping from her nose.

Running over her lips.

Down her chin.

Staining the front of her shirt.

Leo's stomach dropped.

Jules whimpered.

Another tear fell.

"My head."

"Donnie!"

Leo shouted.

But Donnie was already there.

His goggles scanned her.

His expression immediately darkened.

Leo knew that look.

He hated that look.

"What do we do?"

Donnie hesitated.

Leo knew exactly what he meant.

Pain medication.

Or sedation.

Jules hated being put under.

Leo had promised.

But another cry escaped her.

And she doubled over.

Leo felt something inside him break.

"Put her under."

Donnie nodded and ran.

Leo gathered Jules carefully into his arms.

She winced.

A soft sound escaping her lips.

Every tiny movement hurt.

"Jules."

She grabbed his arms.

Hard.

"Leo."

"I'm here."

His voice cracked.

"I'm right here."

Tears continued sliding down her cheeks.

"It's okay."

It wasn't okay.

Nothing about this was okay.

But he said it anyway.

"It's okay."

Donnie returned.

Injection ready.

Leo held her tighter.

"We have to help your head, sweetheart."

Her grip tightened.

"Please don't hate me when you wake up."

Donnie injected the medication.

Seconds passed.

Jules' body slowly relaxed.

Her breathing eased.

The tension left her face.

Her fingers loosened.

"Leo."

The word came out soft.

Small.

Almost asleep already.

"I'm here."

Her eyes fluttered.

Then closed.

And she was gone.

Leo sat there holding her.

Unable to move.

Unable to breathe.

Unable to think.

Beside him Donnie stood silently.

Then Leo finally looked up.

His voice was steady.

Cold.

Determined.

"Call your friend."

"Now."

Donnie nodded.

And for the first time all day—

Leo was afraid.

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