Disclaimer: Not mine but I'm still wishing on stars…
Author Notes: Wow, I am shocked at the amount of traffic this story has received in the few days since it was first posted. Kudos to you guys and thanks!
Snow Blind
Chapter Two
He felt horrible.
He knew it was stupid and childish of him to be staying away from home for so long. He couldn't even remember what had started the argument between him and Don anymore but it was something stupid that was for sure. Ever since Leo left and Don had been put in charge it was like a wall had been built between them. He no longer felt that same calmness that had once felt around Don at all times. It was like he had somehow become both Don and Leo at the same time and that had made it impossible for Raph to even be near his younger brother anymore. Don was always so wound up and stressed out now -especially with that stupid support job he had gotten- that it irritated Raphael just being in the same room with him. Seeing him try to be something he was not and still be somewhat as he used to be, was just so wrong.
He didn't want to admit it out loud but Raphael missed Donatello.
The old Donatello.
Still it didn't excuse his reasons for leaving the lair for so long. Splinter was worried sick about him and his vanishing act was enough to make Donatello come looking for him. He hadn't expected that but with the threat of the blizzard rolling in from the North it made sense. His family didn't know that he had a very comfortable hide out in an old abandon apartment building that was schedule for demolition in the spring. The electricity was still hooked up in that place and the plumbing worked. It was by far the best hideout he had found since donning the Nightwatcher persona. He could even hide his bike downstaurs in the back foyer.
Still, coming across Donatello out and about on the town had been surprising. Don hardly ever left the lair anymore unless it was a very quick run to the junkyard to grab a replacement part for something that had just broken down. He never spent any extra time to search through the piles of trash for stuff. It just added to the wrongness of this new persona he had developed. He barely ever spent any time in his lab either. He was either at the computer or his room, sleeping. Even though Raph was starting to suspect that he wasn't even leaving his beloved computers for that.
He had started following his little brother at a distance, curious as to what he was doing. What could be so important to convince him to leave the lair? It was when Donatello paused on a rooftop and started searching around on it that Raphael realized what Don was doing. Back when he and Leo used to fight there were several places Raphael would go to cool off and the roof that Don was currently on had been one of them.
His brother was looking for him.
He watched his brother for a few more moments before he straighten up and left, heading for another one of Raphael's known hang outs. Underneath his helmet he smirked and shook his head in exasperation before moved to follow. It was a bit endearing to know that Donatello still knew of his old habits but it was also irritating because they were old for a reason. He and Donatello had become so distant from each other that his brother didn't even know that Raph had stopped storming off to his old stomping grounds for almost half a year now.
No mattered how angry Raphael found himself becoming with Donatello the longer he followed him, he couldn't not stop following him. Don was way out of practice. The fact that he hadn't even realized that he was being followed proved that. Other than petty criminals and Purple Dragons the city was relatively safe but Raph wasn't taking any chances. He knew that Leo and Karai had made some kind of truce but he didn't trust a Foot ninja to his word let alone her.
No one was going to hurt Don on his watch.
The Dragons on the rooftop had been a surprise to both him and Don judging by the way he slid to a stop and just stared at them for a moment. There were only seven of them and even though they had some nasty new toys and Don was out of practice, he didn't think that there was any need to intervene. Besides, it wouldn't take much for Donatello to piece together who the Nightwatcher really was if he got a good look at him. It was one of the disadvantages to having a genius for a brother. One slip up and Raphael was sure Don would try and make him stop.
As if he could.
It was shortly into what should have been an even shorter fight for one of the Dragon's to pull out what looked like a heavily modified flare gun. It was something that Raph had never seen before and that put him on edge. He didn't like where this was going. It fired a small pellet that had exploded next to Donnie's foot and briefly hid his little brother from view. Raph had started moving closer just in case it was some form of knock out gas but seeing Don come out of the cloud waving his arms about and coughing, got him to relax a bit again. It was just a distraction, no need to be alarmed.
All notions of relaxing went right out the window when Donatello got hit in the chin with a really obvious haymaker. That wasn't right. Donatello should have seen that coming a mile away even being out of practice as he was. He started wiping at his eyes as Raphael broke into a run heading for the rooftop that the fight was on. It didn't take a genius to realize that Don was standing there holding a hand maybe a foot from his face to know that the smoke had somehow blinded him.
He landed on the rooftop, punching the Dragon with the gun and stomping the weapon flat before he checked on his brother who was dangerously close to stepping off the edge of the roof. Even as Don stumbled, he had launched one end of the chain at him, catching his arm and pulling him away from the edge of the building. He then turned his full rage on the Dragons who were clearly not expecting him to show up and he made sure to give them a reason to wish he hadn't arrived.
He heart stopped when Donatello was nearly stabbed and then fell off the building. He broke the jaw and arm of the Purple Dragon responsible for that before grabbing Don's bo staff that he had dropped when he was first gassed. He jumped down to check on his brother, relieved seeing that the clothes line had been ripped out of the wall and that Don was starting to get out of a dumpster. However, all his relief turned into worry when Don had jerked away from him on shaky legs, knocking over a trash can in the process as he put more distance between the two of them.
Don didn't know he was the Nightwatcher and he was under the impression that he was dealing with a human. Of course he would refuse to go anywhere with him. With the injuries he had sustained and being blind as a bat, there was no way that Raph could leave him there, especially with the cops almost there. Making Don go with him had turned his stomach but he couldn't leave his brother blind and stuck in a dead end alley for the police to find. Bad enough someone had seen the fight on the rooftops and called the cops in the first place.
At least he and Don had gotten away before the cops got there.
Raph took the upcoming right turn a lot gentler than he would have if he had been riding alone. Even if Don was right that him lying on his side in front of Raph was over balancing the bike, he also knew that if he had untied Don's feet he was going to have Don's foot about two inches into his chest. Don had one hell of a kick on him, especially if he was pissed, and there was no doubt in Raph's mind that he was furious right about now.
The Nightwatcher eased the throttle back as he came up alongside his hideout. Typical of the street this late at night, there was no one about but he still took a minute of scanning the area before turning down the alley that ran alongside and around behind the building. Don squirmed on the bike as he turned off the engine, shifting the bike into neutral and then letting it coast the last few feet to the back entrance to the apartment.
"Stay put," he said, pitching his voice slightly lower than normal and letting the distortion that the helmet provided to disguise his voice. He tried to hide his accent knowing that Donatello would be able to guess it was him if he spoke like he normally did. Holding onto the handle bars with one hand, he got off the bike and unlocked the door with the key had found inside several months before.
He rolled the bike into the back foyer of the apartments, surprised at how still Don was being. It wasn't like his brother to listen to who he thought was a kidnapper. Quickly he flipped down the kickstand and relocked the door. There was a good chance that Donatello had fainted due to his injuries. Pissed at himself for taking so long he went to pick Don up off the bike to get him upstairs where he could work on patching him back together.
All he got for his worry was a sudden blow to the head as Donatello kneed him hard.
Raph staggered with the hit, disoriented despite the fact that the helmet had taken most of the force out of the blow. Donatello could be a sneaky little fragger when he wanted to be and this just helped to prove it. Of course, he would try playing possum to catch him off guard. It was almost embarrassing to admit it had worked.
Speaking of the techno nerd, he had rolled off the bike and onto the floor. Even as Raph turned back to him, he could feel his bound feet kicking out his knees. He fell, crashing into the bike and knock both of them over onto the floor. He laid there for a moment, glaring up at the ceiling, knowing his bike was now most likely scratched and trying not to jump to his feet and punch Donnie. After 'kidnapping' his brother, he probably deserved this.
He sat up slowly, trying to climb off the bike and not scratch it even worst, and glared at his younger brother. Since he was blind, it didn't have the desired effect on Donatello but it did make him feel better. He anger quickly quelled and turned to worry as he watched Donnie struggle to free himself. He was twisting his body around, trying to loosen the chains wrapped around his wrists and lashing them to his chest. All he had managed to accomplish in the few moments that Raph wasn't paying attention was to rub his wrists raw and reopen the wound in his side if the blood saturated cloth was any indication.
"Stop that!" Raphael snapped as he grabbed Donatello by the shoulders and gave him a little shake. "You're going to hurt yourself worst!"
Donatello tried to answer that by bringing his legs up to kick him again but gritted his teeth and whimpered, his legs falling back to the ground before they had even been halfway to their goal. He was clearly in pain and with his brother not fighting him anymore, it was easy for Raph to see the extra blood seeping out from underneath the cloth he had wrapped around Donatello's side. "Great," he grumbled as he shifted around to pick Donatello up. "Now look what you did."
Donatello tried to pull away from him but didn't accomplish anything more than wiggling back and forth in his arms. "Seriously, stop," Raphael knew he was losing his patience and he hoped that the slightly smaller turtle in his arms would realize that too. "At this rate I'm going to end up knocking you out," he knew he had several light anesthetics in his small first aid kit, one of which would lull his brother to sleep but he'd rather not drug him.
Donatello obviously didn't want to be unconscious either because he quieted down again. He was still tense but he wasn't actively trying to fight Raph anymore and that was good enough for him. At least now he could climb up three stories and not worry about losing his grip and dropping him. Falling down a flight or two of stairs would do even more damage than what he had already done. It took a bit of juggling to keep a good hold on his burden and open the door at the same time but soon enough the door swung into the little apartment that he had taken for his own.
It was a very small one bedroom apartment, probably no more than four hundred square feet but it had everything he needed. He had dragged a small sagging couch and had found a television the kinda worked into the small living space. A coffee table held a collection of empty soda cans, a couple beer bottles and empty wrappers from the various junk foods he had been eating for the past few days. Other than the kitchenette that he really only used the refrigerator in, there was nothing in the main room.
The bedroom had two old mattresses in it, stacked on top of each other. There was an old space heater near the door that Raph made a note to turn on as soon as he put his brother down. Don's skin was chilled and there was a faint tremble to his limbs that did not come from pain.
Donatello jerked away from him as soon as Raph settled him on the bed. He had been expecting it but it still hurt. Don would always come to him before Leo if he needed help with anything. As the two 'middle' siblings in the family, they had always been there when the other needed them. Seeing his brother flinching and fighting him was beginning to break down Raphael's desire for freedom and his own hard to find peace.
Straightening, Raphael grabbed one of the blankets that was on the bed and threw it over Donatello. "Wait here and relax," he said as he headed for the door, pausing to turn on the space heater. "I'll be right back with some stuff to fix your side." Donatello didn't answer him but if the subtle movements under the covers were any indication Donatello was still trying to get free.
He sighed and walked out of the room, heading for the small bathroom nearby. He flicked on the light so that he could see better and began to run the water into the sink. Pulling the small first aid kit from under the sink, he briefly looked over the contents to make sure that he had everything he needed before setting it down on the closed toilet seat. He turned to step out into the kitchen to get a small bowl only to get caught up on the old and half fallen apart medicine cabinet that's remains hung pitifully above the sink. It took him a moment of struggling behind his back to free whatever had fetched up on the old shelving only to realize as he pulled it free that the perpetrator was Donnie's bo staff.
He had forgotten that he had tucked it over his shoulder and into his belt as he looked over Donatello's side. He stared at the bo for a moment before sighing and walking back out into the main room where he propped it against the wall next to the fridge. It was like a symbol of what Donnie had become he realized as he pulled out a deep bowl from the cabinet. Don always had his bo staff close at hand now a days but before he would leave the staff in the dojo or hold everyone else up for a few minutes trying to figure out where he left it. Don never was a big fan of fighting but, since he was put in charge, it was like he was itching for a fight even though he wasn't training as much as he should have been.
Raphael returned to the bathroom and added some antiseptic to the bowl before filling it half full of water. Looking back on it, that fight should have been child's play for Don but when he had first pulled out his bo he had regarded it for a moment like he didn't even know what it was for anymore. After delivering the first couple of blows Donatello seemed to fall back into his rhythm but it was just another reminder of the farce Don was trying to live up to.
It pissed Raphael off knowing that his little brother was turning himself inside out and there was nothing that he could do to help him. Every time he even tried to take some of the responsibility from Don they would end up getting into an argument. It was all of the added responsibilities that Don had been given that had erected the wall between them. He couldn't hate Don, Don didn't deserve this much stress after being so stress free for so long.
Instead, Raphael turned his hatred towards Leonardo.
He and Leo had had their disagreements in the past but this time he had gone too far. Leo had requested the sojourn around the world to help hone his skills but no one had even expected him to be gone this long. No one would have thought that his messages home would have gotten fewer and further between each other. No one would realize how much they had all missed the tight-assed leader of theirs until he had been gone for over a year. Even he missed his older brother, though he would never admit it out loud.
He at least had the outlet he had created, traipsing about in the city as a vigilante, but Mikey and Don were beginning to feel the strain of everything. Mikey was trying to be secretive about it, but Raph had seen him spending time in Leo's room, occasionally crying silently, as he slowly flipped through some of the journal's Leo always kept on his bookshelf. He was living in the past, rereading their old hi jinxes through his brother's eyes as he went through each one. Don was slowly cracking under pressure of being two people at once. Eventually he was going to break.
And no matter what Raphael did, he only seemed to add to the problem.
That was why he had been so secretive on his nightly jaunts through the cities underbelly. Given enough evidence, Don could figure it out and the last thing he wanted to do was stress his little brother out even more. Don couldn't stop him from leaving the lair, he couldn't fight him and Raph knew him well enough to be able to avoid his ploys of trying to out smarting him, and he knew Don knew that. Instead, his little brother would start waiting up and making sure he came home uninjured and worrying about him every night while he was out.
No, Don didn't need to know about this.
Raphael stepped back into the bedroom and was filled with worry. Don wasn't moving on the bed and seemed almost limp underneath the blanket. He swore in his mind as he hurried over to the side of the bed that Donatello laid on and set the medical paraphernalia on the floor. He doubted Don was faking it this time. He was too boneless, he had obviously passed out.
In a way, he was grateful Donnie had finally passed out. He needed the rest and he wouldn't feel the discomfort and pain that would come as Raph cleaned out and stitched the wound in his side close. His pulse was still strong if a bit slower than normal and his eyes were rolled back in his head. He froze when he realized that Don's normally brown pupils seemed to be more of a light brown and hazy. It caused his stomach to flop over in his stomach, his eyes weren't supposed to look like that.
If this was permanent, it would be all his fault.
He pushed that thought aside for now, he had more important things to worry about. Don wasn't going to be patching his side up by himself. Raph needed to focus on the task at hand before worrying about something he probably wouldn't be able to fix on his own. Even as he tried to take his own advice, his hands refused to stop shaking as he dressed the wound.
After he was finished cleaning up his side and dressing the wound like he had been taught to, Raph couldn't help but stand there and watch Donatello sleep. He wasn't resting very well because of the pain he was probably in but Raphael didn't dare give him anything stronger than what he already had. He wanted Donatello to wake up and tell him what he could or couldn't see soon rather than later. Maybe he could figure something out to help.
Raphael heaved a heavy sigh and brushed a hand across Don's forehead not surprised be the warmth that radiated from it. Who was he kidding? Donatello was the turtle who dealt with piecing together plausible cures. He might be on par with a nurse but that was about it for his medical knowledge. He had only gotten Don to teach him how to stabilize someone and very little else. Don was still the authority on medicine and health care in the lair. Raph didn't even have a clue of what to even look for to know how to help Don see again.
Or even if there was a possible cure.
He growled at himself and turned to fetch a washcloth for his brother's forehead. He couldn't keep dwelling on the fact that Don was blind. Maybe if he employed some of Mikey's endless optimism Don's eyes would heal on their own. He was pretty sure that if he looked out the window he would see Hun flying at about that point.
Think of his little brother made him realize in just how tight of a situation he was in. Judging by how late he had found Don wandering about the city looking for him, the genius had snuck out of the lair after Master Splinter and Mikey had already gone to bed. They were going to wake up to find him missing and Raph still gone.
He laid a damp washcloth over Don's forehead and took a quick peek out the single window in the bedroom. Snow had already started to fly and the wind had picked up considerably. Trying to carry Donatello home at the onset of the blizzard would just be a very good way to send him into shock or hypothermia. Possibly both.
He walked back to his brother and pulled his shell cell from his belt, taking a moment to rearrange the blankets on him so that he was practically cocooned in them. He shot off a quick text through his brother's phone. 'Went after and found Raph. Storm blew up faster than I thought. We're bunkered down in an abandon apartment building. We'll get back to the lair after.' Of course it wasn't till he hit send and realized he was still in his Nightwatcher costume sans his gloves that that hadn't been the best idea in the world. It may put his Father and little brother at ease but how was he going to hide his secret identity now from his genius brother? This was one of those moments that Raphael wished that he didn't have such a smart sibling.
Raph left the bedroom and headed for the couch in the living room. He needed a moment to figure out how he was going to keep Don from figuring out he was Nightwatcher. More out of habit he turned on the ancient television and sat on the edge of the sofa. The room filled with its pale glow and he winced when he realized what station he had left it on before leaving earlier.
It was the Weather Channel. The meteorologist on the screen was talking about the storm and what New Yorkers could expect from this storm. While it was going to be the most serious storm the city had ever faced it was going to be right up there in the top ten. Citizens had two days of wind driven snow and fridged temperatures that was pretty much going to shut down one of the largest cities in America to look forward to.
"Fuck it all to Hell," Raph said out loud as he tore the helmet off his head and half threw it across the room. A voice in the back of his head –that sounded annoyingly like Leo- pointed out that if he had just gone home or not stormed out of the lair or not even have gotten into the argument with Don in the first place none of this would have happened.
Don wouldn't be hurt -or blind- if he hadn't left.
He reached into his belt and pulled out his shell cell, not surprised to see several unread texts and voicemails. Splinter had tried to call him again and Mikey had sent him several texts earlier in the night, all of them asking him to come home before the storm hit. Mikey had even included a picture of a pizza which reminded Raph that hadn't eaten since that morning. What was odd was that there was a text from Donnie, who hadn't even bother to try and coax him back since their fight.
Opening it, he was greeted with a GPS location setup that looked a lot like the one that he had seen Donnie use back in the lair before. There were two beacons, one red and one purple, flashing on the screen that quickly spun around and zoomed in on them. He knew what this meant, Don had tried to call him for help, despite their current differences.
Raphael pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like he had failed Donatello even though he had saved him.