A broken rib it's gotta be a broken rib nothing else hurts this bad the pain radiated throughout his left side and up his back. Leo tried to sit up but was immediately stop by an intense pain in his shoulder and the realization that he was worse off than he thought. His leg too had shooting pain that went up his thigh with throbbing and intense force. Leo looked down briefly at his leg and had to do a double take, was that his bone? Was his shin bone really sticking out of his skin? At first he wanted to vomit because he had seen bones in movies sticking out of bodies but in real life it almost looked unreal. Leo closed his eyes and tried not to panic, where was he? And what happened? He opened his eyes and looked up, he was laying on the floor of an alley way, how? He could not remember, the pounding headache refused to let him think. Something warm was dripping over his left eye, when he touched it and looked at his fingers, it was blood. Great he thought to himself I'm also bleeding from my forehead. Leo groaned and with his right arm, he began to pat himself for his shell phone.
He patted at his belt, his chest strap, no shell phone panic started to creep up again inside his chest and made its way out in the form of deep breaths. It's ok, it's still dark outside and the T-phone could not have fallen too far. He made an attempt to push himself up to see if he could see his phone or find out where he was. His lips refused to remain shut, as he grunted and groaned and bit his lower lip to keep himself from screaming, he finally got himself to a slightly half lifted position, but really he was just on his good elbow. He managed to look around and not too far from where Leo lay he saw the car that hit him. The person had abandoned the vehicle and left Leo unconscious with no remorse. Leo dropped back completely onto his side and thought to himself I have to move before someone sees me. I must get back to lair no matter how bad the pain is and will be.
With all the strength his body had to offer he made a great effort to sit up, he let himself scream to work through the pain that his body kept signaling. He shut his eyes without realizing because when he realized he was finally sitting up it took immense effort to steady his breath and he had to remember to open his eyes. Looking around he noticed he flew quite a distance from the car that struck him.
Breathe he told himself as he dragged himself to the nearest wall and held on to dear life as he used what little strength he had to stand up. Pain, it hurts, it hurts, his mind kept thinking, but he breathed in deeply and breathed the pain out his mouth. He thought to himself 'Ok I'm standing I must make my way to the car,' he nearly collapsed at his first attempted step. The intense pain, caused Leo to lose his breath. He closed his eyes and used the wall for support as he limped like a zombie and laughed at the thought of how he must look and how Mikey would mock how he reassemble a zombie. He finally reached the end of the alley way, no manhole cover near the wreck of the smoking banged up car. Lady luck was not on Leo's side, no nearby way to the sewer no shell phone in site. Leo looked up at the sky and saw it was beginning to turn to day light. He needed to hide somewhere until he was able to reach his brothers or until he was able to make his way to the sewers.
He looked again at his surroundings, his blurry vision began to focus and he noticed a few abandoned buildings. He used the little strength he had to drag himself to one of the building with low lying windows. He used the handle of one of the swords to smash the window enough to unhinge it, open it and drag himself in. It caused him immense pain but he was able to drag himself and drop himself to the ground. He blacked out sometime after because when he awoke it was from the sound of trucks driving by. The bounce of the heavy cargo and the rolling of large tires and the rev of engines. It must be midday he thought I don't see anyone but I better close the window just in case. He again taxed his strength to shut the window then laid back down and closed his eyes to rest.
Back at the lair, "has anybody seen Leo?" asked Donnie who was expecting a sparring session today, "nope" said, Raphael "I didn't see him either," said Mikey with a curious look on his face. Master Splinter, was not home he went with his good friend Umeko to help her with her training. Donnie said to himself out loud, "I'll try his shell phone". Raph snorted as Donnie left because he knew Leo was alright he probably was over at April's helping her with something and most likely forgot to let someone know. Donnie made several attempts to reach Leo but continually got voicemail. In a last ditch effort he called April and asked if she had seen or spoke to Leo. She said, she hadn't spoken to him or seen him why? Donnie explained he was supposed to train with him today and he's not answering his shell phone. April was a bit worried but suggested to give Leo a few hours, Donnie replied, "I don't know April this isn't like Leo."
The pain… It woke Leo for the third time in the past few hours. He grunted and turned his head, it hurts so bad, he told himself, the last time he felt this bad was when he was attacked by the Shredder's entire ninja army. I have to get up but I'm so tired, his eye lids, weighed a ton and his head was playing games with his mind. In his last dream he was home, and all was well, he was sipping on some ice cold water and watching TV and laughing with Mikey but he was awake now and another wave of shooting pain shot up his leg again, it's going to get infected if I don't push the bone back in. He lifted himself into a sitting position but the nausea that washed over threatened to knock him back down but he still wanted to try to push the bone back in. He finally got himself into a sitting position, the ribs shifted as he expected they would and with his good arm he reached over and covered them with his hand wishing the pain to leave. Focus, he thought as he reached over to the bone and attempted to push it back in, just touching the bone hurt so bad, the nausea returned with intense force and knocked him back onto his side and he lost consciousness again.
Donnie walked out of his lab, yelling "something is wrong you guys! I just know it, this isn't like Leo to be gone so long and not tell anyone where he is!" Raph and Mikey both stopped watching the TV and looked to Donnie, What time is it? Replied, Raph as he stood up. "6pm" said Donnie, "that makes it 8 hours?" replied, Mikey grabbing the last pizza slice and stuffing it in his mouth. "No Mikey that makes it 13 hours!" said Donnie with panic in his voice. Raph ran and pulled out his shell phone and dialed Casey.
Donnie pulled out his phone and dialed April by the time April and Casey were able to assemble and get the battle shell out of the garage it was almost 9pm. The drive felt like an eternity, in Casey's mind Leo must have been captured by the Shredder, Mikey was biting his nails imaging the worse, Leo must he trapped in a pizza factory with no pizza! Raph, was unusually quiet as he sat in the front seat, arms crossed and focused on the road ahead. Casey noticed but knew now was not the time to talk to Raph. All that was heard was the chatter between April and Donnie as they ran the tracker on Leo's phone. "I got it! Yelled an enthusiastically over whelmed Donnie. "Great job," said April as she yelled out street names to Casey and he sat up straighter in his seat and clicked his blinker to make a right turn.
45 minutes later they arrived to what looked like an abandoned factory district, they parked in a back alley way and all exited the van "spread out" said, Donnie. "April and I will head towards the Shell phones location, Casey, Mikey and Raph go look around for clues." Keep your shell phones near your hands in case you see him, call me immediately, if he's hurt, don't move him, moving him can make him worse. They all nodded and went on their way, April and Donnie, walked towards the bleeping light on Donnie's screen. 20 minutes later they were able to locate the phone, Donnie called Raph and said, he found the phone but no Leo.
Raph's mind was focused he was going to find his brother, even if it took all night. Mikey kept whispering things to Casey and Raph got mad and told Mikey to shut up! What if Leo was calling for help? They wouldn't be able to hear him Raph made a good point so he shut up as they continued to scout the current building they were in. Donnie and April had no luck, they just got further and further from the shell phones location. Raph, Mikey and Casey exited the building and began searching the streets again, at a distance Raph noticed what looked like car parts. 'Car parts?' Raph thought to himself, 'was there an accident?' He bent down lifting up pieces, Raph knows car parts, "these car bits and pieces are from a car that was once here that must have been towed. There fresh, the tire marks" he said out loud," as Mikey leaned over him and said, "Sherlock Raphael to the rescue!." "Shut your pie hole Mikey this is Leo were talking about and if he needs us I want to find him as soon as possible." Raph walked a few feet away from the tire marks and saw something familiar, one of their elbow pads. Raph ran over to it and picked it up, it had blood stains on it. He gasped, He knew immediately Leo was hurt. He flipped open his Shell phone and called Donnie. Donnie answered, "Did you find him?" "No replied, Raph, "I found an elbow pad and it has dried blood on it, he has to be somewhere around here and I have a bad feeling..."
Donnie informed April and they made their way to where Raph, Mikey and Casey were. Raph began walking quickly to the nearest surrounding buildings. One in particular caught his eye because it was the only one with a broken window. He ran over to the building it was dark, too dark. He grabbed the miniature flash light from his belt and shined it in the broken area. He saw something a bit of a distance away, he thought he saw a glare of a sword, he looked again, "it's got to be Leo! He yelled out" He broke more of the glass window with his Sai, unhinged and lifted the window and jumped into the ware house. Casey and Mikey followed after, they all turned on their flash lights and began to scan the building. Raph heard a moan, "did you hear that?" He said more to himself than to Casey and Mikey, "there he is!" He yelled out as he ran towards his fallen brother.
Leo's body was laying on the ground slightly surrounded by boxes, Raph turned Leo's body, and lifted Leo's head Leo moaned and attempted to open his eyes but it was to no avail. "Call Donnie now!" Raph yelled to Mikey as he gave Leo's condition a once over he noticed his own pulse began to race as. Mikey, turned as he was not able to control to his emotions "Hello," said Donnie on the other end. In a panicked stricken voice Mikey yelled into the phone "come quickly Leo's in bad shape." Raph shook Leo in an attempt to wake him. Leo finally opened his eyes, He looked at Raph and said, "I hope I'm not hallucinating again." Raph, grabbed his brothers face and said, "No bro it's me." Leo looking down with furrowed eyebrows, he licked his dry lips and said, "I'm glad it's you Raph" as his eye lids began to close to again. "Stay awake Leo" said, Raph loudly not wanting Leo to go unconscious again. Casey had noticed a bit earlier that Leo had a bone sticking out of his leg, but he didn't want to stress the guys out any more than the situation called for. Casey, stood up and said, I'm going to get that battle shell. "Good Idea, "said Raph, looking at Casey with watery eyes. Casey knew Raph doesn't cry over just anything, fact Raph never cries, Casey picked up speed and ran towards the broken window to go to get the battle shell.
"Where's Donnie and April!" Raph yelled out in anger, Leo can't keep waiting for help he thought to himself as he held onto Leo's unconscious form. After a bit of silence Mikey yelled, "I see them! This way Donnie and April!" Donnie ran over, clearly out of breath from running, Donnie dropped his bag of medical supplies, he literally thought of everything but did not expect to see his brother in the shape he was in. Donnie, shook Leo to see if he was awake, Leo moved a bit and said, "hmm Donnie.. I.. was.. just.. resting.." Leo said licking his lips and slowly closing his eyes. "It's ok Leo," replied Donnie looking at April who was beginning to opening medical supplies, gauze pads, alcohol and she began prepping an IV bag, all while watching Donnie work. Donnie, grabbed Leo's wrist, his pulse was weak, "he's lost of a blood," that statement was clearly obvious because Leo was 2 shades lighter than usual. Donnie opened Leo's left eye first then Leo's right eye, shining a small light in both he said out loud, "pupils are sluggish, he's got a severe concussion, let me look at that head wound," he said to Raph, signaling to him to let him see Leo's head. Donnie touched it a bit and said, "yup that's going to need stitches but it can wait until were home, the bleeding has stopped." April leaned over handing Donnie a piece of gauze and tape. Donnie covered the wound and thanked April.
Donnie looked Leo over, "He's dehydrated, has a dislocated shoulder, Donnie touched Leo's broken ribs, the area was discolored, Leo immediately jumped and hissed his eye brows remained furrowed in pain Raph held Leo a bit tighter wishing he could take some of his pain, he whispered to Leo "it's going to be ok." Leo's breathing picked up and he gritted his teeth when Donnie counted 1, 2, 3 broken ribs on his left side, Leo's breathing began to slow down when Donnie stopped touching them. Donnie worked his way down and breathed deep when he saw the bone. He looked up at Raph and Raph held Leo's upper body tighter Donnie touched the leg and around the bone sticking out and Leo's started writhing in pain "help Raph hold Leo down" Donnie, told Mikey. April was able to insert the IV needle and looked up as she saw Casey running in. "The battle shell is right outside I think we should go now I saw a cop not too far away patrolling." Donnie looked up at Casey and said, "I have to reset this bone before moving him, most likely Leo's already got an infection from the exposure and it would be more painful to move him without resetting it first."
Donnie, looked up at his Leo, whose breathing was quick and uneven, "I'm sorry Leo," he said as he looked at his family and asked them to hold Leo down. All the hands of the ones who loved Leo were on him, Donnie grabbed unto Leo's leg, Leo was already visibly in pain when Donnie lifted the leg up from the ground. Leo was already moaning and slightly moving his head side to side, Raph, tried to calm his brother by saying, "It's going to be OK. Donnie warned everyone by "saying are you ready?" Donnie, had to ignore his brother's pain, if they were to get Leo home and soon, he pushed his worried thoughts to the back of his mind. He covered the bone with both hands and with all his strength pushed the bone in. Leo's upper body immediately jumped and his good arm made an attempt to grab at his leg, even though everyone was expecting it, it still startled his family. Everyone pushed Leo down at once, making his upper body lie back to the ground, Leo had let out a scream that nearly made everyone there cry, it echoed in the big factory and in their heads. The crack sound that came immediately after is what brought their attention back to Donnie. Leo's body began to tremble in their hands as the scream came to sudden halt and they watched Leo's eyes roll back, his eye lids slowly closed and his body went limp.
Donnie quickly grabbed a large gauze and place it over the open wound, tying it off with a longer strip of gauze he looked up to his family and said, "Time to go". April whose fingers were on Leo's neck reported Leo was alive, "Good Donnie replied, "Let's get him home." Raph lifted Leo's upper body by the arms and Mikey assisted with holding Leo's shell. Donnie and April lifted Leo's legs by the knees. Casey ran ahead to go open the back of the Battle shell's doors. It was a bit difficult to lift Leo's body through the window but they were able to get Leo out of the building and into the battle shell and to Donnie's relief Leo did not awake.
In the battle shell, Leo was covered in all the blankets they had at the moment. Donnie had to replace the Saline bag because the first one had already drained and the IV tubing was filling with blood. April assisted by hanging the new IV bag on a hook that was once thought to be decoration inside the battle shell. Donnie kept checking Leo's vitals, his skin is really cold, "his in shock" Donnie said to April, "help me elevate his legs." April, Donnie and Raph carefully maneuvered Leo's body into a position that they were able to have Leo's lower body lying flat and they put blankets under Leo's knees to lift his legs a bit. It wasn't completely comfortable in the back of the van they called the battle shell but that was not any of their concerns at the moment. Mikey was sitting in the front seat with Casey who had already cranked the heat to max and Mikey did not care that he was sweating his butt off. His concerned thoughts were solely on Leo.
Finally, they made it home, the mild relief on everyone's face was clear, but Donnie's relief would not come soon enough. As they lifted Leo's body from the Van, and quickly made their way into the lair. Donnie began to yell orders, Mikey towels and boil water, Casey bring the first aid kit as Raph and Donnie and April laid Leo's unconscious form on the bed in the lab. Donnie began to unwrap the sheets his brother was covered in, and he asked April to set up the monitors as he grabbed some alcohol and other various needed medical items. The heart monitor was set up and the IV bag was hung on the pole above the bed. Mikey came in shortly after with towels, he put them down then headed back to get the boiled water. Casey lugged in Donnie's giant first aid kit and put it on a nearby table.
Casey looked at Raph's still form, he was clearly in shock. "Raph," he said snapping the red banded turtle back to reality. "Let's go, I'm sure Donnie needs the room" Donnie, held a piece of gauze to Leo's head and said, "actually I'm going need Raph incase Leo wakes up he's the strongest of all of us." Casey nodded and walked out as Mikey walked in with a large bowl of hot water and placed it next to the towels. "Thank you" said Donnie Raph shaking his head to help himself focus said, "How can I help?" Donnie had already started stitching Leo's head wound and was almost done stitching the wound when he said, "grab a towel and help me slide it under Leo, I need to pop his shoulder back in before he wakes up." Donnie finished taping a small piece of gauze to Leo's forehead and he turned his attention to Raph. April was busy cleaning Leo up as best as she could. When Donnie said, "You don't have to be here for this" April replied, "Leo is my family too I will stay." Donnie told Raph to grab the towel and pull it towards himself as Donnie pulled Leo's arm down this should pop the shoulder back in. When Mikey walked in he looked briefly at what Raph was doing and when he saw Donnie pull at Leo's arm his stomach churned at the popping sound Leo's shoulder made as it was popped back into place. Mikey turned a shade of green lighter and told Donnie, I'm going to go puke now."
Raph, April and Donnie, removed the towel from under Leo's chest and April and Raph helped Donnie, wrap Leo's ribs and put Leo's arm in a sling to help Leo's shoulder heal. Luckily for Donnie, Leo was still out cold his vitals' were all over the place but at least he hadn't woken up. Donnie turned his attention to Leo's Leg wound he uncovered it and began to irrigate it with the now luke warm water, the bone was still showing under the broken skin, Donnie grabbed some tweezers and began removing pieces of bone and then he irrigated the rest of the debris out before placing some antibiotic beads into the wound then covering it to stabilize the leg with a splint. Through it all Leo remained unconscious, Donnie took Leo's temperature and as he suspected Leo had a fever.
After hours of mending his brother's wounds and making sure Leo's leg was properly propped up and not able to move. Donnie was able to relax a bit. April cleaned up everything and now came the hardest part waiting. Leo's vitals remained at a worrisome rate. Splinter as always remained by his sons bed if they ever got hurt. Lately it was always someone getting hurt, if it wasn't Raph, it was Leo, if it wasn't Leo it was Mikey. Donnie was more conscious and self-aware and tried his best to not get hurt. Fever plagued Leo, his eye brows remained furrowed as his temperature continued to climb now dangerously close to 104. Raph and Donnie continued to watch over their injured brother who continued to breathe heavy. Leo's body was trembling violently his good shoulder would move forward and back, his body would shift slightly looking like it was trying to get comfortable as Leo's head would move side to side jaggedly side to side. Donnie injected a large dose of antibiotics and acetaminophen hoping that it would help, April worked tirelessly wiping Leo's forehead and walking in and out of the room with fresh ice water.
Mikey was finally able to reach Splinter who informed Mikey he would return immediately. Casey had passed out on the couch waiting for Donnie to let them know if Leo was going to be ok. A few hours went by and Mikey had passed out on the couch in front of the TV. It was about 7am when Leo's fever began to show some type of improvement it was at 102 Donnie sighed as he pulled the thermometer out. Leo's body was still trembling but it wasn't as violent and his breathing was starting to settle. Donnie insisted Raph get some rest he would keep watch over Leo but Raphael shook his head and said he would not leave Leo's side. April has fallen asleep on the table in the dining room a while earlier, she told her self she would rest her eyes for a bit but quickly passed out from exhaustion. Donnie gave Leo a second dose of medicine before realizing himself that he too was beat and decided he would go for a short nap, he gave Raph instructions and insisted he wake him if Leo comes too. Mikey was standing on the door and heard the conversation and said to Donnie, sure thing bro we got this! Raph just gave Mikey a dirty look as he placed a new rag on Leo's forehead.