It hadn't all been a dream.
Raphael lay propped in a nest of pillows and blankets on the floor of his bedroom, staring up at the dark ceiling as he tried to separate reality from fantasy. He'd been at it since he had woken from his nightmare almost two hours ago. After the much contemplation, he's finally reached a conclusion:
The dream had started when he found himself on the airplane and everything before that had actually happened.
Casey came over last night.
They had driven down to the rail yard.
The Purple Dragons had been there.
A fight had broken out.
And at some point during the skirmish, he had lost consciousness.
A dull ache in his head and the knot on the back of his skull told him he must have been knocked out. Try as he might, he could not remember the circumstances surrounding the sustainment of his injury. He did, however, have a few flashes of memory from the remainder of the evening.
Waking up to Leo's face hovering over his.
Being helped back to the BattleShell by Casey.
Getting fussed over by Donnie in the medical bay.
Having Master Splinter make sure he was alright.
And then heading off to bed.
Those images were broken and hazy. Yet, he could recall the entirety of his dream in vivid detail. As his mind replayed it all for the umpteenth time, Raph lifted a hand and gingerly touched his nose. It was still tender from greeting the floor.
A yawn pulled his mouth into a wide "O". He had no idea what time it was though he suspected that it was damn early. Sore and exhausted, Raph draped an arm across his mask-less eyes as the desire to close them grew stronger. Just as he was drifting off, his bedroom door opened and the lights were flipped on which alerted him instantly. Keeping his face covered, he loosed a frustrated growl.
"Did I wake you?" Leonardo's voice asked. Receiving a grunt for a reply, he stepped fully into the room and closed the door again. "I'm sorry."
The older turtle crossed the floor and knelt beside his brother. Raph did nothing to acknowledge Leo's proximity. Unsure whether or not Raph had fallen back asleep, Leo reached out and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Raph grumbled an incoherent message and shifted his arm enough so that one golden eye glared up at the pesky intruder.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Leo asked, the concern displayed on his face genuine.
"Never better," Raph replied in his typical sarcastic fashion. Closing his eye again, he moved his arm back into place over it. "Thanks for asking. Ya can leave now."
"That good, huh?" the leader joked, ignoring the latter part of his brother's response. When Raph remained silent, Leo prompted him again. "How much do you remember from last night?"
Raph drew a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to keep his irritation with his sibling in check. "Not a helluva lot. I remember driving ta Manhattan and parking at the bar. Everything after that's just bits and pieces."
"You were knocked out."
"Yeah, I figured out that much. What happened?"
"A few of Purple Dragons were making their getaway, lost control of their car, and drove it into one of those mobile office trailers sitting at the edge of the Yards," Leo explained. "The structure collapsed, taking you down with it."
"Ya sure those pricks weren't swerving ta try and hit me?" Raph questioned.
"They were swerving to avoid you," the katana-wielder corrected. "Because, of course, you were trying to stop them." His tone filled with disapproval. "After I ordered you to let them go." He gazed over the assortment of cuts and bruises decorating his brother's body from head to toe. "You acted recklessly and you could have been more seriously hurt. Don said you're lucky you didn't end up with a concussion."
"Blah, blah, think before ya act, blah, blah, listen ta me next time, blah, blah, stop acting like a hothead, blah," Raph stated mockingly. "There. I just saved ya fifteen minutes of lecturing. Now ya can go meditate or do whatever it is ya like ta do when ya ain't chewing my ass out."
Leo was not amused. Mouth set in a firm line, he pulled Raph's arm out of the way. "Raphael, I'm trying to have a serious discussion with you."
"And I'm trying ta get some sleep after being crushed by a fucking trailer!" the red-masked ninja snapped as his eyes shot open. He scowled at his big brother and yanked his arm free. "Could ya save the damn sermon for later?!"
Before Leo could offer a response, the door opened to reveal Donatello. The genius held in hand a bottle of water and a clear plastic medicine cup with two acetaminophen tablets in it. He lingered in the entryway for a moment as he took in the scene before him.
"Oh, good, he's awake," Don said finally, moving to kneel next to Leo.
"Sure, invite yerself on in," Raph told the new arrival acrimoniously. Not one to discriminate, he had the same scornful look for Don that he had for Leo. "I don't mind at all."
"And acting like his usual grumpy self, I see," Donnie commented, completely unfazed by the rude greeting. He set the water and the medicine down on the floor then proceeded to check the bandage on Raph's right thigh that was covering a nearly three-inch gash. Whether Raph had received it from the fight itself or the trailer's aluminum siding falling on him was anybody's guess. As he worked, Don attempted to question his wounded brother. "How's your pain this morning?"
"I already told Wonder Boy I was fine," Raph answered and batted Don's hand away. "Will the two of ya leave me alone already?"
Grunting, he rolled to his side to face away from his brothers. The movement made his battered body remember what his mind could not. A few choice curse words slipped from Raph's mouth as pain paraded through his nervous system. His discomfort did not escape the other turtles' notice.
"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?" Don inquired.
"I said I was fine," the sai-wielder muttered, adjusting the pillow beneath his head to a more comfortable position.
"Right," Don replied dubiously. He picked up the medicine cup and shook it slightly, making its contents rattle. "I brought some acetaminophen that I want you to take. It will help with whatever pain you might be feeling and is okay to take even if you are 'fine'. Can you sit up, please?"
Raph sighed heavily while rolling his eyes. Compliance, he figured, would be the fastest way to get Don and Leo out of his room. Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and held his hand out for the pills.
Don hid his surprise at seeing him give in so easily. He usually had to argue for consent from Raph who acted little better than a petulant child when it came to being doctored. Odd though it seemed, Don was not about to complain and quickly deposited the cup into Raph's waiting palm. The younger turtle tossed the drugs back then traded the empty container for the water bottle Don offered him. He drained all of the cool liquid in three large gulps, capped the bottle, and tossed it aside.
"Anything else?" Raph grunted.
"Avoid physical exertion today," Donnie commanded. "That means no practice, no katas, no sparring, no punching bag, and no lifting weights."
"Fine, whatever," the hothead said. Flopping back down into his pile of pillows, he rubbed his hands over his tired face. "Can I sleep now?"
His reply set off alarm bells for both Don and Leo. The two older ninja exchanged worried glances. Raph had never willingly missed out on exercise before and Master Splinter's inference was often required to keep him from defying such instructions. Immediately, Don began to question his prior diagnosis, mentally reviewing all the symptoms of a concussion. Raph had passed the check last night, but Don knew that in some cases the onset of certain symptoms could be delayed.
"Raph, let me look at your eyes," the genius requested while fishing a small pen flashlight from his belt.
There was no resistance as he gently tugged Raph's hand out of the way. Clicking on the light, he shined it briefly into each of his brother's eyes, watching the pupil reaction closely and observing it to be normal. The discovery did not soothe Don any though.
"I'm going to ask you some of the same questions I asked you last night," he declared while tucking the flashlight away. "And I want you to answer me honestly, Raph. Capiche?"
Raphael sighed again. "Capiche."
"Is your vision blurry?"
"No."
"Do you feel dizzy when you're upright?"
"No."
"Any nausea? You haven't vomited, have you?"
"My stomach is fine."
"Is your head feeling worse than it did last night?"
"Feels about the same."
Donatello gripped his knees and hummed as his mind processed the responses. He searched Raph's face for any sign of dishonesty, but found none. Something else did catch his eye though: a smudge of dried blood underneath his brother's left nostril almost too faint to be noticed.
"Did you wake up with a bloody nose at any point during the night?" Don asked urgently.
"…yeah, but…but only 'cause I…"Raph began and stalled. He was embarrassed by the reason behind his bloody nose and was loathe to admit it. Squirming in place, he glanced away from his brother and mumbled the rest of his answer. "…I fell out of my damn hammock and smacked my nose on the floor."
The genius had to strain to hear the last bit and it left him needing more clarity. "Did you stand up, lose your balance, and fall?"
Raph shook his head twice. "I was sleeping and woke up when I hit the ground."
"Were you dreaming before you woke up?" Leo inserted, his curiosity piqued.
Having spent many years of their childhood sharing a room with his brothers, Leo knew that Raph was a motionless sleeper. Once he went down, he stayed down, and didn't move at all unless he was having a particularly active dream. Raph was also much harder to rouse from slumber compared to everyone else in the family.
"Yeah," the hothead quietly admitted and rolled onto his side once more, ignoring his body's protests.
"Was it the same dream you had before?" Don wondered as he suddenly recalled the conversation he had with his little brother the previous morning.
"No…" Raph denied. "…it was just…weird."
Leo and Don looked at each other again. The leader arched an eye ridge, silently asking his scientist sibling to elaborate. Don shook his head then tilted it in the direction of the door, indicating that he would answer Leo's questions after they left the room. When Leo nodded in understanding, both turned their attention back to Raph.
"Well…I'm still fairly certain that you don't have a concussion…" Donnie ruled, addressing Raph's shell. "…but just to be safe, someone's going to check on you every couple hours to make sure you're still responsive, okay?"
"Okay," Raph replied as he closed his eyes.
"Do you want one of us to stay here with you?" Leo asked, his protective big brother instinct kicking in.
"No."
"Alright then," the eldest conceded. "We'll leave you alone."
Don rose to his feet, but Leo remained on his knees. Selecting a loose blanket from the nest, he flung it over his little brother and tucked it into place. Raph was already too far gone to express his thanks. Leo's mouth lifted into a brief half-smile as he joined Don. Together, the two crept silently from the room and shut the door behind them.
"So just how fairly certain are you?" Leo asked as they retreated to the kitchen.
The bo-wielder shrugged his shoulders. "He's coherent, he's not slurring his words, he can answer questions, he doesn't seem disoriented, and he responds to stimuli normally. Sure, he's irritable, but how would you discern that as a symptom of a concussion in someone who's a constant grouch?"
"What about the fatigue and amnesia?" the leader continued.
He, too, knew how to diagnose a concussion. It had been part of the first aide treatment Don had insisted everyone in the family be educated on. Entering the kitchen, they parted as Leo headed for the kettle and Don the coffeemaker.
"Wouldn't you be dead tired if a building fell on top of you? Even a small one?" Don replied, selecting a filter and placing it in the brewing basket. "And amnesia doesn't automatically indicate a concussion. Even minor head trauma can cause a person to experience brief memory loss." Scooping up a generous portion of his favorite brand of coffee, he dumped it on top of the filter. "The only option we have really is to watch Raph closely for the next couple of days to make sure he isn't developing any severe symptoms of a concussion."
Stepping over to the sink, Leo turned on the water to fill his kettle. "Right. We should update Master Splinter and Mikey about the situation over breakfast." He returned to the stove and plunked the kettle down on the front burner which he then powered on. "So about that dream you mentioned…"
"Yesterday Raph told me he had a dream about one of Bishop's mutants," Donnie explained. He took Leo's place at the sink and filled the coffee pot with water to its maximum serving size. "He seemed pretty shook up about so when you asked him if he had been dreaming I wondered if he had the same one."
"Hmmm…" the blue-masked ninja mused, retrieving the tea canister from the cupboard. "Raph doesn't have nightmares often."
"No, he doesn't," Don agreed, pouring the collected water into the coffeemaker's reservoir. "But you know that they're always really bad when he does."
XXX
Leo had volunteered to be the one who checked on Raph throughout the day. As a frequent victim of the hothead's hostility, he felt himself better prepared to deal with Raph's sour mood more than the rest of the family. At each waking, Raph had been able to prove that his brain still worked with all the sass Leo had anticipated. During the latest one Raph had dismissed his big brother with a rude hand gesture and Leo took that as a strong sign that Raph was going to be just fine.
Raph, meanwhile, had lost count of the number of times his rest had been disrupted. To him, it seemed like he had barely fallen asleep before he was being nudged awake and bombarded with the same stupid questions over and over again. He developed an intolerance for Leo and had no qualms about expressing it whenever he opened his eyes to find the other ninja staring down at him. Around 9:30 that night, Raph hit his breaking point.
"Dammit, Leo!" he yelled when he felt a hand shaking him by the right shoulder. Keeping his eyes shut, he turned his head so that his face was buried in the pillow. "Go the fuck away!"
The shaking persisted. Enraged, Raph's left hand shot out and wrapped around the wrist of the limb that was disturbing him. He squeezed it with all his might, not immediately registering the fact that the arm he held was too narrow to belong to Leo.
Or his remaining brothers for that matter.
It was only when fingernails began to dig into his flesh that Raph realized there was a stranger in his presence. Out of surprise, his eyes popped open and he twisted his head around to look at his catch. The lights were off though and he could barely make out the silhouette of someone hovering above him.
"What the fuck?!" Raph shouted in alarm.
Releasing the arm, he kicked at the unknown person trying to both put some distance between them and harm whoever it was. His foot grazed something solid and as he sat up he watched the dark figure rise and rush for the door. Wide awake now, Raph scrambled to his feet and gave chase to the intruder.
And just when it should have needed to stop to open the door, it vanished.
Dumbfounded, Raph skidded to a halt mere inches from the heavy wooden door. No one was there anymore, but he was sure he hadn't imagined things. Deciding that it must have been Mikey playing a stupid trick on him, Raph grabbed the doorknob, twisted it hard, and yanked. Anger fully fledged, he stomped out into the lair.
The other members of the Hamato clan were gathered in the living room watching a movie together. They had all jumped upon hearing Raph's door slam loudly against the wall. Their heads swiveled in the direction of the hothead's room and witnessed him barreling towards them, clearly mad about something. Teeth grinding and fists forming, Raph stopped directly in front of Mikey who was seated on the couch between Master Splinter and Leo.
"S'pose ya think yer real funny, don't ya, ya little shit!" Raph hissed as his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Raphael!" Splinter admonished. "You have no right to speak to your brother that way!"
Michelangelo had flinched when his brother started speaking. Eying the threatening emerald fists warily, he wracked his brain trying to think what he could have possibly done to earn Raph's fury.
"…uhhh…what are you talking about, Raph?" he questioned meekly, sinking deeper into the couch cushions as if they might afford him some protection.
"Don't act innocent!" the sai-wielder snarled. "Ya snuck inta my room ta scare the hell out of me while I was sleeping!"
"Raphael!" Leo scolded. Springing to his feet, he placed a hand to Raph's chest to prevent him from attacking the youngest. "Mikey has been out here all evening watching TV!"
Raph turned his burning gaze on Leo. "Then who the fuck was in my room just now?!"
