Disclaimer: Still no owning unfortunately.
A/N: I want to thank you all for helping me through a rough work week! Yeesh, folks were crabby! So I have Chapter 4 for ya and there's some length to it! Well, more than Chapter 3, anyway…
Mikey Takes a Stand
Leonardo closed Raph's door and paused, setting his forehead against the wood. He stared down at his feet feeling odd, hollowed out as if all his fear, adrenaline, and strength were pooling beneath his heels. His sinuses were cold with every breath. There were tiny tingles at the ends of his fingers. His lower lip stung as his tongue touched chapped crevices. And every blink lined his eyes with a wetness.
Good grief, he was falling apart.
Although, after the night he'd had, maybe it was warranted.
Silence had engulfed the family even as Raph's accusation of Donnie rang in their ears. The second youngest sat staring at his brother with pain and confusion wrecking havoc across his face.
"Leo…sensei, you know I-I would never -"
Splinter had set his hand upon his son's shoulder. "Of course not, Donatello. Do not think on it. We must bring your brother elsewhere now. The laboratory is not suitable, it seems."
"But," Donnie's eyes fluttered as he shook his head, "the IV. His…"
"We will make do," the rat said. "Michelangelo, are you all right?"
He nodded, flashing a thumbs up.
"Then clean yourself, quickly. I want you and Donatello to move the spare bed from storage into Raphael's room. I do not trust that rope thing he sleeps on."
The younger pair vanished to do his bidding while Splinter and Leonardo examined Raphael. They managed to haul him up onto Leo's back. He staggered once beneath his brother's weight, but with Splinter's soft encouragement, the leader managed to give Raph a piggy-back up to the second story and to his cool room.
They found Mikey had done them one better than the lumpy, stained bed they'd kept "just in case". It was Mike's own queen mattress shoved against Raph's wall, the pillow resting just beneath the loose cords of the hammock. A red handprint marred the lower corner. Both Mike and Don were gone by the time their father and brother arrived. Mikey was probably soaking through a roll of paper towels, but Leo felt a tug of irritation that Donnie was not there oversee the transport of his patient.
Once Raph had been settled, Leo shucked off the sweatshirt which had been stifling him all night. He tossed it at the foot of the bed as Splinter eased down next to Raph's shoulder. A splash of red spilled from the sweatshirt's front pocket and the leader carefully pulled Raph's mask (entangled with his own) free. Shoulders sagging, he had tied his bandana back to its proper place and ran the red fabric through his fingers.
"I'll get you a chair, master."
An ear flicked towards him. "You will do no such thing." Leonardo looked up in surprise as his father turned to him and gently took his hand. Splinter's eyes were filled with tears as he met his young warrior's gaze. "You have brought your brother home, Leonardo. Thank you for doing what I could not."
"Father…"
"Go and take some well deserved rest, my son. That is your only task for this night."
Thinking on this order, Leo stared at his feet, helplessly, forehead pressed into the chipped wood of Raph's door. His own bedroom lay ten feet to his left. Dark, quiet, and so inviting. But he had too much to do, yet. He had to go back to lock and secure the garage and set the alarms they'd forsaken in their haste. He needed to call April and Casey so they could get some sleep of their own. He needed to be sure Mikey and Donnie were okay.
Sniffing, he pushed from the door and moved toward the hall.
"Bah!" he fell back against the frame.
Donatello had been right at his shoulder, narrow-eyed, arms folded, and looking spectacularly ticked off.
Leo's hand slapped his chest. "Donnie, what -?"
"So I work for the Foot?" he asked, huskily.
The leader straightened and offered a weak smile. "That was a first for me, too."
Donnie's brow lifted. "How would I know that? You haven't said two words to us since Karai's. I was hoping after the lone gunman act and the kamikaze jaunt into Foot central, that maybe I'd be lucky enough to get some answers. But no," his face twisted with bitterness, "mighty Leo's got it covered. I get nothing."
"Don…"
He swiped Leo's words aside with a sharp flick of his wrist. "Do you have any idea what it was like for me and Mike to watch you walk into that building? Do you have the slightest clue how it felt to just sit there with you in that warehouse?" he stepped closer, danger radiating off him like Leo had never seen. "Do you understand what it might be like to see your brothers come stumbling out of the dark and have them both go into shock at your side while your trying to get us all home in one piece? And then to get nothing. Frick, Leo, what am I supposed to do with…how on earth…I mean, I'm frickin' supposed to…" he waved weakly towards Raph's room, panting.
Leo's dark eyes glittered as he studied his little brother. The bruises gathering around the inventor's neck seemed more defined against his paler, sleep deprived, neck. Don's eyes were touched with fear and desperation and something about the way his mouth tugged down threatened he was about to burst into tears.
It took everything Leo had not to throw a hug on him. But Donnie's barbs were exposed and he opted out. "Don, what happened downstairs, it was -"
"I swear, Leo," sparks flew over brown eyes, "if you take responsibility for that, you're going to get a test tube shoved where the sun don't shine."
He frowned. "Then what do you want from me?"
Donnie scoffed, incredulous. "Are you effing kidding me, Leo? What do I want? I want to know what the hell happened to you in there! I want to know what's going on!"
"Uh, guyths?"
"What?" Don snapped as they both looked to the right. Mikey fell back a step, lifting a bag of potato chips in defense. A pair of Kleenexes were shoved up his nostrils. He looked between them with matching shiners blossoming beneath his eyes.
His brow fell. "Ad fund ad dis convo deems to be goin', I dink Dad'ded hab an eadier dime hebbin Raph seeb if choo werend't fiding judd oudhide hid door!"
The older brothers blinked and Leo cocked his head. "What?"
"Michelangelo!" Splinter's muffled scold drifted through the door.
"Dorry, densei," he said, automatically. Mikey pointed to them. "Libbing room, dow."
Don and Leo glared at one another and trudged downstairs to the darkened entertainment area. Mikey followed close behind and tossed his chips onto the couch before squaring off with them. He lifted his chin to look down on his taller siblings.
"O'day, I'b had it…"
"Mike," Donnie lifted his hand, wearily. "I can't get in trouble from someone who sounds like that."
"I - huh?" He rolled his eyes and yanked the Kleenex from his nose. Dropping his hands to his knees, he inhaled sharply.
Snnniiiick-k-k-k! Gulp.
"Nice, Mike," Leo said, wryly. Don's jaw fell in horror.
The youngest shivered as he straightened, dabbing his wrist band at his nose. "Okay, we good now? I have had it, guys. Up to here." He lifted his hand above their heads. "See that? That's me trying to deal with you two. Guess who's no longer having fun?"
"Mikey," Leo said with a faint warning.
"Is talking right now, Leo," he snapped. The leader slowly closed his mouth. The orange banded brother shook his head. "I mean, come on, guys. Raph's back and his sick. Leo, when you said he'd need us when he got back, I didn't think you meant for us to be at each other's throats." The older pair snuck each other a look. "You guys fought the other night, crazy things are gonna happen. Now get over it. Let's all just drop this weird tension and find out why Raph thinks Donnie's working for our favorite psycho-chick and why he made me swallow my own blood!" He took a deep breath and waited.
Leonardo felt his and Don's eyes on him while he kept his own locked on the floor. "I don't know why he thinks your in league with the Foot, Don. Or why he didn't recognize Mikey at all. I just…" Something danced across his face and cold fear dropped into Donatello's stomach.
An olive green hand steadied the leader and gently pushed him to sit on the couch. When Don spoke, his voice was his normal, soothing tone. "Try the beginning, Leo."
"Yeah," Mikey said, plopping onto the coffee table. He hooked his legs up beneath himself. "We dropped you off outside Karai's…"
A weak smile flitted at Leo's mouth and was scrubbed away by his fingers. He closed his eyes and lowered his chin. "Yeah, yeah, okay."
Splinter tucked the blankets around Raphael's shoulders, pausing when his son shifted, restless, in his sleep. He cursed himself when he realized he'd been holding his breath. Despite what had happened downstairs, he refused to allow himself to feel any nervousness about his son. Raphael was not his enemy, he did not deserve to sense any apprehension from his father.
He set his palm across the turtle's forehead, thankful that he could. Though Raph's strength had diminished, he was still there. Breathing, occupying his proper space in their home, volatile as ever, still his Raphael.
"Come back to us," he whispered. "You can find the way."
How long had he waited to sit at his side? To whisper assurances and hear the familiar growl of "Masta" break the silence. The attack on Donatello would have to be addressed quickly, of course, but was easily dealt with. Raphael would feel terrible about it once he woke, Splinter knew that. Prone to fighting as he was, the hot-headed turtle would never attempt to harm one of his brothers in his right mind. And he knew Donatello would be more than willing to forgive him.
His ears twitched at a hushed argument growing outside and he sighed. He had not intervened on his children's spats in many years. They were old enough to work through their problems together. But this festering animosity between Donatello and Leonardo did not have the luxury to play itself out. Raphael need all of them united if he ever had hope of coming home.
A third voice joined theirs, nasally and much louder. The rat frowned.
"Michelangelo!"
"Hmm?"
Splinter spun back to the bed, not even hearing Mikey's apology. Raph shifted again, his brow creasing as he muttered to himself. "Thievery…con…con, uh…justice…"
"My son?" Splinter leaned forward just as golden eyes cracked open.
Raph blinked, sleepily, and turned towards his father. "S-sensei? M'I dreamin'?"
Splinter smiled and cupped a green cheek in his palm. "I'm here, child."
"Sensei," Raph moved to sit up and gasped. He curled on himself, hugging his arms with a faint hiss. He opened a hand, frowning into his palm. "Why do I hurt so bad?"
"You exerted much energy before, my son. I believe you're just stiff after…well, after the confrontation with your brothers."
Raph looked up, wide-eyed. "We fought? Is that how we got away from Karai?"
Splinter's smile faded and Raph cocked his head. The fur lining the rat's back rose. There was an openness to Raph's face that had not been seen since…he could not even put a year to it. His eyes were too wide, innocent almost in a way which reminded him of…
"Sensei, you all right?" Raph asked in a soft rasp that was far from his own gruffness.
He blinked and smiled. "Of course, Raphael. But don't you recall? When your brothers brought you home, you -" Splinter hesitated at the deep frown he was suddenly receiving. "Is something wrong?"
Raphael grinned, nervously. "Um, no, sensei. It's just, I think you must be tired. I'm…I'm Mikey, remember?"
* In the words of my favorite rabbit: Ain't I stinker? Wha'cha thinkin'?
