TMNT Shell Shots

To Err is Turtle

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*'TMNT Shell Shots' Summary: This is a collection of random TMNT one-shots.

*'To Err is Turtle' Summary: After Leonardo's decision to secretly help Karai badly injures one of his brothers, the oldest turtle struggles to come to terms with his guilt. *Note: this is an epilogue/one-shot for the episode 'Broken Foot,' set shortly after Donatello regains consciousness.

*Author's Notes: Here's my second one-shot for 'Broken Foot.' Thank you to everyone who read, voted and/or commented on my first 'Broken Foot' one-shot ('Fractured Trust'). I really appreciate the feedback. *hugs* :}

If you're enjoying these one-shots, please let me know. Thank you for reading. ;) CJ

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To Err is Turtle

For the second time that night, Leonardo found himself sitting at the bottom of the concrete stairs outside of the Dojo. He was once again slouched over with his arms folded across his knees and his head hung down in shame. His father had just finished giving him one of the longest lectures in history and Leo's ego was still trying to recover from the verbal lashing. The last words that Master Splinter had imparted upon him continued to resound in his head . . .

"Until I can meditate on the matter and come up with a suitable punishment for your reckless actions, you are not to leave the lair under any circumstances. I will let you know my decision in the morning."

As Leonardo had watched Master Splinter disappear into his room to presumably 'meditate on the matter,' he had not been able to stop himself from shuddering in his shell. He dreaded what his father would deem a suitable punishment for his oldest son going behind his back and secretly working with his rebellious teenage daughter to try to take down the powerful army of his sworn enemy. As if those offenses alone hadn't been condemning enough, Leonardo had nearly gotten all three of his brothers killed in the process. There was no doubt in his mind that being grounded for his irresponsible conduct was just the tip of the iceberg. A far more painful fate surely awaited him once his father had a chance to thoroughly contemplate what he had done. Disobedience was something that Master Splinter did not tolerate.

It had been obvious to Leonardo throughout the course of the lecture that his father had been struggling to rein in his anger. Though Master Splinter's exterior had remained relatively calm for the entire duration of the talking to, his dark, intense eyes had revealed the fire burning inside of him while he had harshly, yet somehow calmly, chewed out his first-born son.

"Even after I warned you of the cost of vengeance . . . Even after you saw firsthand the suffering your bad decisions had caused . . . Still, you went out seeking revenge, knowing that it was against my wishes. After all that happened, you still willingly put your other brothers at risk while I remained here, administering the Healing Hands to Donatello. Was it not enough that one of your brothers had already been wounded by your blind need for retribution? A leader must learn from his mistakes, not attempt to repeat them."

Yes, it had been one epic lecture, all right. The only actual words that Leonardo had contributed to the 'conversation' had been a "Hai, Sensei" or two, which he had managed to sneak in when his father had paused briefly to take a deep breath before continuing on with his rant.

Leonardo couldn't remember the last time that he had made his father so furious. Probably not since the day that he had foolishly told Master Splinter that he had decided to let Raph take over as leader of the team. Leo had gone on to explain that he was tired of having to make all of the decisions and he was sick of being underappreciated by his brothers. His father had been quick to voice his strong opinions on the matter . . .