Leo shot up out of bed, breathing heavily. He had had a nightmare. A terrifying one.
Thinking about it made him shiver.
He was at a graveyard right outside the city.
His brothers and Master Splinter were there, too.
April was weeping. Casey looked like he wanted to but couldn't.
He looked around, counting two of his younger brothers. One was missing. Mikey.
Where was Mikey?
Suddenly he realized exactly where he was and why.
No. No.
Looking down into a hole at his feet, he saw a small form, wrapped in blankets. Nunchakus were placed on top of the still body. It couldn't be.
He looked closer. There was a small opening. He could see a face. The eyes were closed. It looked peaceful.
Then it sank in.
Mikey was dead.
He screamed.
Leo looked around the dark room, feeling the need to check on his little brother.
To his relief, Mikey's chest was rising and falling evenly. There was one thing that bothered him, though.
When he took a step closer, he saw Mikey's forehead bunched up, and he kept whimpering, as if he was having a terrible dream.
Leo picked him up and settled him against his chest. Mikey's face, unmasked because of non-necessity, smoothed out a little.
Leo stayed in that position all night, guarding his little brother against monsters.
TMNTMTNTMTNTMTNTNTMNTNT
Astrid came back in the morning.
When she walked in the lair, Splinter and Donnie gasped.
She was bloody and bruised.
Her hair, once glistening and clean, was now red with dried blood.
"It was-was som'ne call'd th' F't. Th' we' look'n f' y'." She slurred, swaying on her feet.
"I t'k c're o' th'm." She said before dropping.
Splinter moved fast, catching her before the blonde head hit the floor.
He felt for a pulse, and was comforted when there was a strong, steady beat against his fingertips.
"She is fine-for the moment." He said, drawing himself up to his full height. Cradling her gently, he walked towards the lab, where he would have Donatello evaluate her.
MTMTMTNTMTNTMNT
"Well, besides having a mild concussion and multiple cuts across her body-which should heal in a few weeks, not even a scar-she's fine." Donnie said to Splinter, who was standing next to him.
Splinter let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief.
Donnie's eyes flickered from the woman on the table to his master. Splinter was staring at her face as if he could memorize it.
Neither said a word.
Finally Donnie couldn't take it anymore. The awkwardness was too much.
"So, um, yeah, I'm just gonna go. Now. Yeah. Bye." He slipped out, banging his head on the door on the way out.
Splinter remained for another minute. He was just about to leave when Astrid sat up groggily.
"Wh-What happened?"
He was glad to note that her voice was clear, if not somewhat fuzzy from being unconscious for several hours.
"You do not remember?" He asked, concern lacing his tone.
"Y-Yeah. There were these weird ninja freaks-they musta been human or something, cause they were really freaky. They said to me, 'Where are the turtles?'. I pretended I didn't know anything, so they attacked me. I fought back. There were only two of them. Thing is, they must have been wearing armor or something, because when they hit, their arms felt like solid steel. It was weird. I took them down, ran off, and managed to pull off a tracker they'd planted on me before I passed out. Then, I walked here, somehow-I don't really remember how-and ended up on this table." She whispered, throat sore from several punches.
She didn't mention that she had been carried by him, and he didn't either. Let sleeping bears lie, Splinter's master had said.
TMNTMTNTMNTMTNT
After she had cleaned herself up, dressing her wounds, Astrid headed for the infirmary.
When she got there, she noticed a few things.
First, was the conspicuous pile of turtles on a cot, near the cot, and next to the cot.
Leo was sitting next to it, head titled back. She winced. He was going to have a terrible crick in his neck when he woke up, she thought.
Donnie was on the cot, curled up with only his head peeking out of a mound of blankets. She smiled at that.
Raph was closer to Mikey's bed, head resting on his arm.
All three were sound asleep.
Attempting not to wake them, she inched over to where Mikey lay.
Astrid noted with some satisfaction that his breathing was, finally, steady and clear. The feeding tube was still in place, and he looked rather thin. He would need to gain quite a few pounds back before he was in the green zone-but, from what she heard from his brothers, Mikey wouldn't mind an excuse to scarf down pizza. If only he loved broccoli and spinach that way, she thought to herself wryly.
His foot twitched, and she smiled. If his body had enough energy to do that, he was much better off than he had been the last time she'd seen him.
Checking his vitals was tough. Mikey needed all the sleep he could get if his body was ever going to heal properly.
Seeing her dilemma, Splinter soothed Mikey every time he whimpered as she adjusted his arms.
His heartbeat was stronger than it had been, but not as strong as it should have been. She frowned, lips set into a thin line.
The bandages around the place where he had been stabbed needed changing. She did so swiftly and skillfully, not wanting to wake him up.
He was under heavy pain medication, not only for his wounds but for the amount of toxin being pumped into his body.
Her frown deepened when she checked his temperature. It was hot. Too hot for comfort.
Checking the IV bag where the medicine dispersed, she saw an almost full bag. One of the boys must have replaced it before passing out.
Going back to his temperature, she noticed more things.
One, that it was already 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit. She cursed.
Two, that Mikey was having nightmares. Fever dreams.
Three, that she was running out of ideas on how to save this dynamic teen.
What was going to happen now?
I know I have been gone for sometime now. I take full responsibility for my actions. I know, it's short. I'm trying to update as often as I can, and I don't think you guys really want to hear my (perfectly valid, by the way) explanations of why it's hard this week to get updates out. As always, please review! Love you guys!
~JustABunnyLover~