"Dean!" Copeland exclaims, engulfing him in a tight hug as the tears start streaming down her face. "You're alive. I knew you'd come back. Oh Dean...I'm never letting you do anything stupid and reckless again, you idiot."

He gasps, coughing and weakly returning the hug. "Co, you're crushing me," he wheezes. "And...you hate hugs."

"I love hugs. Shut up."

She loosens her arms a little as she buries her face in his shoulder. He manages a feeble laugh and returns the hug.

"I missed you," he murmurs.

"We all missed you more," she cries softly, finally pulling away and letting him sink back into the bed. "Thanks for saving our lives though...shielding us from all that rubble."

"Someone had to," he returns, his eyes fluttering shut momentarily.

They shoot open after a moment and he lurches upwards, barking in pain as he grips his abdomen. Copeland immediately lowers him back down as he tries to calm his quaky breathing.

"Who...who set off the freak explosion at the end?" he asks, his face genuinely curious.

The turtle girl doesn't answer, looking away. "Um...I'll go get the others."

She dashes from the room. Dean narrows his eyes a little at the weird response. He slowly pushes himself up, feeling his wings and legs ache horribly. He tries to flap his wings, but the feathered extensions on his back only move weakly before sending flaming agony through his body. He grits his teeth, looking down at his clothing and his body. His shirt buttons up at the front, but none are fastened. Electrodes and wires are pressed onto his pectorals and abs, attaching him to a nearby heart monitor.

What his eyes focus on are the ugly gashes crossing his chest from Shredder's blade. They've gotten dark, healing over and becoming smooth, but he still looks at them in disgust. He raises his arms slowly, looking at the scratches and faint cuts lining them as he tentatively clenches and unclenches his fists.

His eyes flicker to the clock on his bookshelf, his eyes widening when he notices that he's been unconscious for almost three months.

"DEAN!"

He yelps a little as his ears flatten against his head. Venus leaps onto him and secures her arms around his neck as she plants kisses all over his face. He ignores the pain she caused by her weight landing on him, only returning the hug as he enjoys the warmth of his sister.

"Hey Vennie," he whispers.

"I love you so much," she returns, her pretty green eyes sparkling with joy.

He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you too, little sister."

Outside the room, Copeland bursts into Destiny and Leonardo's room. She races to the wolf-raven, grabbing her shoulders and shaking relentlessly.

"Auntie Destiny! AUNTIE DESTINY!" she shouts.

She wakes up, groaning and blinking slowly. "Huh? What?"

"Dean...he's awake! Come on!"

Copeland turns and races from the room to get Leo. Destiny is out of bed in a flash.

"UNCLE LEO! UNCLE LEO!" Copeland shrieks.

Leo squeaks in surprise, accidentally rolling off his makeshift bed on the bench in the process. He groans as he sits up, holding his head.

"Copeland? It's two in the morning, what are you-"

"DEAN'S AWAKE!"

He's racing towards the bedroom before she can utter another word.

At the door, Destiny and Leo run into each other. Their faces break into the happiest smiles they've shown in quite a while.

"Dean..." they both whisper.

Leo holds the door open and allows his wife to walk through first. Dean looks up at his parents and smiles a little, gently nudging Venus back to the ground.

"Hey mom, hey dad," he greets.

Destiny laughs through her relieved tears, moving forwards and hugging him gently. He relaxes into his mother's warm embrace, inhaling deeply as he closes his eyes.

Leo doesn't greet his son quite yet, guilt slowly replacing the relief he's feeling. More and more regret crashes over him in waves, once again remembering that he almost pulled the plug.

Destiny pulls away, kissing Dean's forehead. Dean's sapphire eyes flicker to his father's, the identical colours locking.

"Dad?"

He swallows the lump in his throat, his eyes growing misty as he looks at his feet.

"No Dean...I don't think I deserve to be called that anymore," he whispers.

The wolf-raven boy's brow furrows as he shakes his head. "I...I don't know what happened while I was out, but whatever it was, I forgive you."

Leo looks back up at his oldest son, disbelief evident in his countenance. Then, he moves forwards until he's right next to the bed. He holds his hand out for Dean to shake, but he ignores it and instead wraps his arms around his father in the tightest hug he can manage. Leo returns it slowly, a sad, breathy laugh escaping his lips.

Destiny and Venus move closer, overwhelmed by the emotions cramping up the small space. The two male mutants separate, smiling at each other. Leo turns around, meeting Destiny's eyes. For a moment, they don't say anything.

Venus glances between her parents, a sly smirk crossing her face. She scoots over behind her mom, bumping her hip into her butt. She stumbles forwards, Leo catching her instantly. They look at each other in surprise, then back at Venus.

"Go on. I'll make sure to cover Dean's eyes," she offers sweetly, bouncing over to her brother.

Dean arches an eyebrow. "Um...what-"

Venus places one little hand over his eyes, the other covering her own. "Ssshh..."

Destiny and Leo look at each other again, their cheeks slightly pink. Venus peeks through her fingers for a moment.

"You know what to do! Mom and dad, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-" she sings.

"Okay, Venus, we get it." Leo's eyes glint, a small smirk crossing his lips as he looks to his wife again, pulling her closer to him.,"Well? Wanna try and put back together what was broken...angel?"

Destiny rolls her eyes. "Oh Leo...you cheesy doofus."

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him gently, something he eagerly returns. Venus giggles, while Dean just rolls his eyes underneath the cover of her three-fingered hand.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

The happy feeling seems to fade away far too quickly. After numerous hugs and kisses from his family, Copeland helps Dean out into the family room. Problem is, he can't get his legs to work properly. Every step he takes is shaky and weak, frustrating the boy further and further. What's more, he's so weakened that he's leaning more on Copeland for support than actually holding himself up.

"Can I get these clunky casts off yet?" he grumbles, wincing noticeably as he tries to take another step.

Copeland eyes her cousin worriedly. "Maybe...I'd ask Donnie." She pauses as Dean takes a deep breath, trying to ready himself for another step. "Dean, you should-"

Dean yelps and stumbles, falling to the floor and bashing one knee on the hard floor. He collapses the rest of the way, gripping his hurt leg and gritting his teeth together so forcefully it looks like he could shatter them.

"Dean!" Copeland gasps, kneeling down and trying to help him up. "I told you. You need to take it easy."

He tries to push himself up, but his arms give out and he flops down again. He shuts his eyes, punching the floor and letting out a choice word.

Raphael and Michelangelo come out from the dojo, having heard the shout. They take one look at Dean on the floor and Copeland's look of concern and put two and two together.

"Okay, come on buddy," Raph says, moving to his side.

"Let's get you to Donnie and Sarina," Mikey adds.

The older turtles hoist Dean up and help him back to the laboratory with Copeland standing back. Asher, Dakota, Mitch, and Venus peek out of the hallway.

"What happened?" Venus asks.

"He fell," Copeland answers briskly.

"Well, obviously," Dakota says. "We meant further than that."

"His legs are too weak to support him. He's stubborn, so he's still trying. He fell, hurt his knee, and couldn't get back up." Her hazel eyes, surrounded by her usual pink mask, flash to her cyborg cousin. "Far enough for you?"

Asher sighs heavily. "He just woke up...considering we expected him to be paralyzed, it's amazing he's even trying."

"Doesn't mean he should be," Dakota points out.

Mitch frowns. "I'm not used to him being this angry...or so quick to frustration."

"Uncle Donnie warned us," Copeland mutters. "He said he'd most likely be miserable for a bit."

Venus' face falls. "But...he won't always be like that, right?"

No one answers, because no one knows the truth.