Yeah…I don't own the turtles. 'Nuff said.
The turtles were going through their daily morning exercise at the dojo, training by Splinter's commands.
"Dragon fist!" Splinter instructed.
"Keeyah!" cried the four turtles, each completing the difficult ninjitsu move.
"Reverse-punch!"
"Keeyah!"
"Snap kick!"
"Keeyah!"
"Good, my sons," Splinter said as he lowered his staff to the ground, signaling for the turtles to stop. "Now that you have finished your morning exercises, it is time to move on to—"
"—Saturday morning cartoons?" Mikey interjected with a hopeful smile.
"Mikey, we've only been training for half an hour!" Leo argued, frowning at his youngest brother.
Splinter made an exasperated sigh and turned to Mikey with an annoyed expression. "As I was saying, you will move onto sparring with each other." Mikey crossed his arms and gave a small pout to Splinter's instruction. "Leonardo—" the elder rat swiveled his head to the eldest son. "You will be in charge as I will take my leave now. I will be with April, at her apartment; it is time for her ninjitsu lessons." Splinter warmly smiled at that comment. "And remember, my sons, I wish for you to take what you have learned and use it in battle."
"Yes, sensei," the turtles murmured in unison as Splinter made his way out of the dojo.
"Alright you guys," said Leo, "let's get started. Raph, partner with Mikey. Don, you're with me."
"Humph," Raph huffed at Leo, then turned to Mikey and grinned. "Alright, ya cheeseball, I'm ready when you are."
"If you say so, bro," Mikey smiled back and shifted into a defensive pose.
Amidst the noise of their two other brothers' match at the other end of the dojo, Raph and Mikey started their battle, diving at one another. With an impressive show of strikes, kicks, and dodges, the intense match between the red-banded and orange-banded turtle blossomed into more of a demonstration of their mastered ninjitsu moves. It was Mikey at first who pulled off moves to tease his older brother and showoff, but soon Raph played along, and as the match progressed both turtles wore a broad smile on their faces. Then Raph became a little more aggressive and tried to tackle Mikey, but his little brother was too fast and easily evaded the attack by leaping above Raph. Unfortunately, Raph quickly recovered from his failed attack by delivering a strong kick to Mikey's chest as the turtle descended from the high jump. Mikey crashed into the dojo wall and a loud 'crack' sound resonated throughout the room. Raph put his hands up defensively, waiting for the oncoming attack from his brother.
But the attack never came. Instead, Raph watched as Mikey froze, not moving a muscle. Mikey's blank, shocked expression quickly transformed into a grimace of pain, and Raph started to panic at the sudden change. Mikey let out a chocked sob and crumpled to the floor, holding his right arm.
"Mikey!" Raph cried at his injured brother. In a flash, he dropped down to his knees beside his trembling brother. "Oh shell! Mikey, I-I-I'm so sorry. What's wrong with ya?" Mikey didn't respond, his eyes held shut in pain. "Mikey!" Raph cried again, louder.
"Raph! Mikey!" Leo shouted as he and Don ran over to their brothers from the other end of the dojo.
"What happened?" Don asked worriedly, seating himself next to Mikey. As Raph explained the situation, Don leaned in closer to have a better look at the arm Mikey was holding painfully. He made a move and touched Mikey's arm, trying to diagnose the injury. Instantly, Mikey let out a pained scream and he instinctively moved back, even more worried for his brother.
Raph silently shoved Don over. "Mikey?" Raph gently asked. "Mikey come on, I know ya can hear me. I want ya to open yer eyes. Can ya do that for me?" Slowly, Mikey opened his eyes, his face still scrunched in pain. He opened his mouth as if to speak but all that came out was a strangled gasp. "I-I'm right here for you, okay?" Raph gave a fierce stare into his brother's eyes, hoping to hold Mikey's attention.
"Mikey, I need you to concentrate on your breathing," Leo said to Mikey, leaning next to Raph. "Deep breaths, Mikey, in and out." Mikey obliged, cringing at his every movement, and drew in shaky breaths as Leo instructed. Tears started to form at the corners of his eyes.
Leo and Raph did their best to soothe Mikey and let Don determine the cause of Mikey's pain. After a few agonizing minutes, Don sighed miserably as he came to a conclusion. "Guys, it's Mikey's shouler. I think it's dislocated. See here?" Don pointed to an odd bump on Mikey's right shoulder and Raph and Leo gasped. "There's a bulge in front of where the shoulder joint would be, and the arm is actually being held in front of his body. This is not good."
"Well then whatda we do, Donnie?" Raph asked angrily, directing his panic and concern to his brother.
"We have to reattach his shoulder joint back into his shoulder, before this gets any worse," Don replied, looking from Raph and Leo to Mikey's shoulder.
Leo put his hand firmly on Don's shoulder. "Just tell us what to do, Donnie. We trust you."
"Wait!" exclaimed Raph. "What about Masta' Splinta'? Shouldn't he—"
"—No," Don interrupted. "We can't wait for him; that would be risky. Mikey's injury might become more severe and it's also just cruel to have him wait and suffer longer. We have to do this now, before his muscles have a chance to start spasming."
Mikey let out a high-pitched squeak. Leo, Raph and Don immediately stopped their conversation to face their bother slumped in front of them. "J-Just get this thing…over with," Mikey said softly through gritted teeth. He tried to smile at his brothers but it still looked like a grimace. "I don't...h-have all day, you know."
Raph and Leo both relaxed visibly at Mikey's comment, relieved that their brother was still trying to pull jokes in this situation. Don on the other hand was too concerned to notice his little brother's attempt to relieve the serious tension in the room. He sighed again, still inspecting Mikey's arm. "Okay…Raph I want you to hold Mikey steady. We don't want him to hurt himself any further." Raph shifted down to Mikey and placed one hand on his good shoulder and another on his plastron. Mikey whimpered at the movement. Reluctantly ignoring Mikey's pained complaint, Don motioned for Raph to press even closer to Mikey. Once he was satisfied with Raph's position, he turned to Leo. "Okay we need to do this as quickly as possible. You're going to flex Mikey's elbow to 90 degrees while I gradually rotate his shoulder outward. This should allow his shoulder joint to spontaneously relocate with the socket." Finally, Don turned to his youngest brother. "Mikey. You'll be experiencing some intense pain, so I need you to just stay calm for now and focus on something else, okay?"
"Focus on me, Mikey," suggested Raph. Mikey gave a small nod and locked his eyes on his older brother.
Leo grabbed Mikey's arm and slowly flexed his elbow. Immediately, Mikey started to cry out at the pain. Raph held him tight. "It's okay, bro, it's okay."
Don gulped as he got into position. "Okay…here goes." Carefully, Don maneuvered Mikey's arm back into its socket. Mikey's shrill cries grew louder and his brothers winced at the miserable noise. A loud scream escaped from Mikey as his shoulder popped back into place with a click. Then suddenly, the dojo was quiet.
Raph pulled back from his brother. "Mikey?"
Wheezing, Mikey looked up at his three brothers and gave a well-deserved smile. Leo, Raph and Don smiled back, relieved at their success. Leo and Don picked Mikey up, careful to not touch Mikey's right arm and shoulder. But as soon as Mikey got up on his feet, a flaring pain shot up his arm. He grew dizzy. "Ngh…wait" he moaned. His brothers stopped moving. "Bros, I don't feel so good…" Mikey's face scrunched up and he started to vomit on the dojo floor.
"Aww Mikey!" Raph yelled, not knowing what to do with the situation.
"You'll be okay Mikey, just let it out," Leo said as he started rubbing his brother's shell. Don comforted Mikey silently, firmly supporting his injured brother. When Mikey finally finished emptying his stomach, he started to cry, slipping to the floor.
"Dude, that was so gross," He muttered, putting a hand to his head.
"Jeeze Mikey, ya trying to scare Donnie an' Leo half ta death?" Raph smirked, trying to hide his distress.
"Y-yeah right Raph," said Mikey, unable to come up with a witty comeback.
"Come on, Mikey, we need to get your arm wrapped up," Don said, nodding to Leo to get the medical supplies.
"Okay…" replied Mikey, who started to sway.
"Whoa!" Raph caught Mikey before he fell backwards to the floor. Mikey's eyes were closed. "Hey Mikey, this betta' not be a joke or I swear—" Raph cut off, hearing a pained grunt from Mikey.
"Don't worry, Raph, he's just fallen unconscious," Don reassured Raph, staring at the sleeping Mikey in his arms.
"I wasn't worried!" Raph heatedly argued, turning away from Don.
"Don, I've got the supplies!" Leo called from outside the dojo.
Don turned his attention away from Raph. "Good," he called back, "bring it to my lab and we'll fix up Mikey there." Don then looked at Raph and said "Alright, you carry him while I support his arm." Raph nodded in reply and lifted his brother gently from the ground in a bridal-style position. The turtles moved slowly from the dojo to Don's lab and met up with Leo.
"I've just called Master Splinter. He said he'll be here as soon as he can," he said as he assisted Raph and Don in lowering the unconscious Mikey to a padded table. Raph and Leo silently watched as Don wrapped Mikey's arm and shoulder in a white bandage. At the movement, Mikey whimpered painfully in his sleep, and Raph growled at the pitiful sound.
Leo instantly recognized Raph's reaction. "Raph, you can't blame yourself. It was an accident."
"Shut it, Leo," Raph said, his voice rising." Ya don't know whatcha takin' about. I—"
"—yes I do!" Leo retorted, his voice matching Raph's. "I was right there too. Just get it through your thick skull that—"
"—hey leave my skull outta this," Raph said, pushing Leo.
"Guys! Guys!" Don wailed helplessly at his brothers. "Stop this! How is fighting gonna help Mikey?"
Leo and Raph stopped their argument and both looked at Mikey. Their eyes lingered over his newly bandaged shoulder and arm that was now held in a sling. "Sorry," Leo said.
"Humph," said Raph, eyes lowered. He made his way over to the table and gingerly placed his hand on the youngest brother's cheek. "Sorry, buddy," he murmured.
"Let's move Mikey over to the couch," Don proposed. "He'll be more comfortable there." Again, he and Raph worked together to transfer Mikey to the soft couch, careful to not jostle his bandaged shoulder. After they cleaned the mess in the dojo, the three turtles decided to wait beside Mikey so that when he woke up he could be calmed. They did not want his condition to worsen.
Ten minutes into waiting, Splinter showed up with a face full of concern for his youngest son. "How is Michalengelo?" he asked when he came in.
"He'll be fine," said Don, motioning to Mikey's right shoulder. "We've already reduced his shoulder dislocation. After he wakes up, I'll give him some Ibuprofen to ease the pain. He'll be feeling really sore for a week or two, and then he can start to use his arm again after that."
Splinter sighed with relief. "Ah, that is indeed good news, my son. Now then, I will go to make some tea; perhaps it would be good for all of you to drink some and calm your spirits." Splinter smiled at the four turtles and then walked into the kitchen.
About half an hour later, Leo made his way to the kitchen where Splinter still sat, sipping his tea. "Sensei, I am sorry for this. You put me in charge, and yet—" he sighed, looking crestfallen. "I-I failed you."
"No, my son," Splinter said, shaking his head. "You have not. What occurred was but an accident. You cannot prevent every harm that may come to your loved ones. Sometimes, protecting others can only be done through comforting them. And I have seen that you all took care of your brother." Splinter took another sip of tea and exhaled a warm breath. "That love you show, that warmth—is a very important feeling to have as we walk the path of the ninja. Do not forget this lesson, my son."
Leo rose from the table, a soft smile on his face. "Thank you, Sensei." He bowed to Splinter and left to go see Mikey. Back at the couch, Leo sat back down on his chair next to Raph. The red-banded turtle was still fixated on the sleeping turtle below him. "Raph?" he said, getting his brother's attention, "I'm, well, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I guess I was a little tense from seeing Mikey like that." His memory flashed the scene of Mikey puking his guts out. He shivered.
Raph looked at Leo and gave a crooked smile out of embarrassment. "Nah, bro. I was…worked up too, I guess. Shouldn'ta yelled back."
"Hehe," Don chuckled from his seat behind his brothers, "I guess you two made up, huh?"
"Quiet, Donnie," said Raph.
"Well someone doesn't want to show their soft side," Don teased, "I think—"
"Donnie, I said quiet!" Raph roughly placed a hand over Don's mouth. Don and Leo looked at Raph quizzically in silence until they heard a faint whimper. At once, Don and Leo's heads whipped to Mikey.
Mikey groaned and opened his eyes sluggishly. "R-Raph? Don? Leo? What're you guys—ah!" Mikey softly cried at his newfound pain in his shoulder.
"Whoa there, ya shell-fer-brains, don'tcha move yer arm, rememba'?" Raph steadied Mikey.
"Now I do—ouch. Ow. But it reeeeeeally hurts," Mikey wailed and looked at his bandaged arm in a sling.
"About that Mikey," Raph said, eyeing Mikey's pained expression, "I, uh, I just wanna say I'm…sorry that I—"
"Forgiven, bro," Mikey cut in. "It was partly my fault anyway."
Raph looked surprised at Mikey's quick answer. Not knowing what to say, he awkwardly muttered "Thanks, bro." Leo and Don smiled at the scene.
"No pro—ow!" Mikey cried. He looked at his shoulder with a scowl on his face.
"You'll be fine, Mikey," Don chimed in. "Here, take these." He held out two Ibuprofen pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
"Aww…" Mikey whined. "I hate taking pills…"
"Well, at least he's back to his annoying self," said Raph.
"Hey! I'm the victim here!" Mikey argued, carefully sitting up.
Just take 'em, Mikey," Raph countered in annoyance.
Grudgingly, Mikey did so and gave the glass back to Don. "Thanks," he murmured.
Don smiled. "You'll feel better in twenty minutes or so. But no moving your arm, understood? After a week, we'll take the sling off, and after that it'll be up to me when you'll be allowed to use your arm. My guess is about two weeks. Okay?"
"Yes, Doctor Donnie," Mikey sighed with a pout.
"What's wrong, Mikey?" Leo asked.
Mikey looked up at his oldest brother with an uncharacteristic frown across his face. "I won't be able to do anything! With—" he pointed to his right arm "—this, I can't play video games, or spar with you guys, or skateboard, or fight, or, or…have fun." He stopped, looking down.
"Jeez Mikey, you make it sound like the end a' the world," Raph said.
"But it is!" Mikey dramatically protested.
"Well it'll be only for two weeks," Don comforted.
"And who's to say you can't have fun?" Leo smiled widely, putting a hand on Mikey's good shoulder. "Why don't we have a movie night tonight?" he asked.
At Leo's comment, Mikey suddenly lifted his head up, smiling from ear to ear. "That would be awesome, dudes! We could have a movie marathon! With popcorn and chips and—" he cut off and looked at his brothers, all smiling at him in relief. His smile somehow grew even wider. "Thanks, you guys. For everything."
"Ah, come're you," said Raph as he, Don, and Leo pulled Mikey into a hug. Careful of his shoulder they pulled away.
"So…I get to pick the movies, right? And snacks?" Mikey asked thoughtfully. The three older brothers groaned at the youngest's comment. They knew it was going to be a long night.