Took me a life time for this chapter, huh? ^^´Sorry
Congrats buck180... you guessed right ^^ B-day date: April 1st. The only reader that guessed right ^^ Ok, now read and enjoy... and review please.
Monday
04:10 am
I can't believe it. None of us can! Leo has leukemia, chronic leukemia! Don couldn't wait and woke up sensei and Mikey. LH told them what Don and him (and I, in sort a way) already knew. They're all shocked. To make things worse, LH told us Leo can't be cured; he was already in blast crisis.
"But how is that possible? We've just detected the illness" Don said.
"The chronic myeloid leukemia process developed twice faster on Leonardo because of his mutated cells. Besides, this illness is supposed to be human; turtles do not get affected by leukemia. But… Leonardo's DNA and yours as well is mixed with human's DNA" LH explained.
"Ya mean the kid on the pet shop?" Raph asked.
"Precisely" LH answered.
"So, maybe that kid…" Don started.
"We are not sure if the kid had this disorder but the truth is Leonardo does and unfortunately it can not be cured. I'm so sorry" LH said sadly.
"It's ok Leatherhead. We understand" Don sighed. Everybody stayed in silence until Don talked again
"So… who's gonna tell him?" Don asked.
"Does he have to know?" Mikey replied.
"That's a stupid question, Mikey. Of course he has to know!" Raph said angrily.
"Well, excuse me for my stupid question… Oh! So clever Raphael! But it's not that simple to go upstairs, open the door and tell your agonizing brother he's dying and we can't save him!" Mikey yelled.
"Michelangelo, Raphael! Enough!" Splinter interfered.
"This is not the time for an argument, my sons" Splinter said. Raph and Mikey lowered their heads in shame.
"Maybe I could tell him; after all, I promised him I would let him know the results once I got them. We have to wait till he's awake, though" Don said.
"He's already up. Since he got sick, he always wakes up at 4 and he goes to sleep again at 6 am till the afternoon; then he wakes up at 3 pm, goes to sleep two hours later…" Raph commented.
"You can't remember to do the dishes but you can remember all Leo's new schedule?" Mikey teased. The others rolled eyes at the lame joke.
"Well, according to Raph… Leo must be awake. I better tell him now" Don said and made his way upstairs.
Leo stirred and opened his eyes slowly trying to fight the tiredness he felt. Everything hurt: his eyelids, his breathing… everything. He hated feeling like this and he hoped Don would tell him what was happening with him and if there was a way to cure him. His bedroom's door opened revealing a half-sad, half-pretending nothing-happened Donatello.
"Hey Don" Leo said hating how weak his voice sounding.
"Hey Leo, how are you feeling?" Don asked sitting beside Leo.
"Tired, sore, sleepy… nothing unusual, I guess" Leo said smirking slightly.
"Mmm… that's… nice" Don said avoiding his brother's gaze.
He wasn't so sure how was he gonna tell Leo the bad news and that made the genius turtle felt nervous. Leo sensed something wasn't right with Don, the vibe around him was tense and he noticed Don's hands shaking slightly.
"Donnie, what's wrong?" Leo asked worried.
"N-nothing. I'm… I just…" Don said still avoiding Leo's eyes.
"Is there a problem?" Leo asked. Don's silence was the answer Leo needed.
"What is it?" Leo insisted.
"I don't know… how to tell you" Don said sadly.
"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere" Leo chuckled.
"It's… about your blood test. I got the results" Don said with a deep sigh.
"And?" Leo asked in curiosity as he tried to sit up. He finally was going to hear what he needed to know after all those months of suspense. Don remained in silence.
"C'mon Don. It can't be so bad" Leo encouraged his brother.
"It is bad" Don said meeting his brother's gaze. Leo couldn't help but feeling a little scared.
"Really bad" Don continued now lowering his head.
"Leo, you…" Don started, his breathing speeding up. He took a deep breath.
"C'mon bro, tell me" Leo said placing his hand on Don's trembling one.
"You have… chronic leukemia" Don said, his voice low… but just necessary loud enough for Leo to hear it.
"That's… cancer, right?" Leo said trying to stay calm despite of the terrible news.
"Blood cancer to be precise" Don said.
"And you can't do anything?" Leo asked knowing it was a ridiculous question… but he still held some hope.
"I'm sorry… the disease developed twice faster and LH said you're in blast crisis already. We… we can't… I'm…" Don said nervously.
"It's ok. I understand" Leo said calmly hoping that would also calm down Don.
"I'm so sorry" Don sighed.
"Don't need to. At least I know what's going on with me; thanks for telling me, Don" Leo said with a smirk.
Don left the room immediately without looking back at his brother. He felt so bad and guilty; he was supposed to be the genius, he was supposed to find a cure like he always did. But there was nothing he could do now… yet, he couldn't stop blaming himself.
Seems like Donnie-boy is out of Leo's room. I hope Leo is ok.
…
…
Ok, that was stupid. I mean, who in the world would be ok if one day wakes up and is told he has cancer… and is gonna die? Oh well, I guess I'll only ask Don how went things with Leo.
"Sup? Did ya tell him?"
"Yeah" Don answered. Uh-oh… I don't like the tone of his voice.
"And?" I had to insist.
"Apparently… he… he was calmed when I told him" Don said.
"And what about you?" I can sense Don's nervousness on his voice… he's gonna collapse.
"I-I don't wanna talk about that. Not now" Don said letting out a sigh.
"Donnie... This is not yer fault, bro" And I mean it, it's not.
"How do you…" Don started.
"You and Leo have so many things in common and one of them is taking the blame for sumthin' that can't be helped"
I swear that's one of the things that make me say Leo and Don could be blood brothers… they're like twins on the blame thingy. I blame myself this, I blame myself that… I… hey… where did Donnie go?
"Of course it could be helped!" I heard him yelling from the kitchen. When I arrived, Don's face was resting on his hands… like he wanted to cry or sumthin'… I don't blame him. He's the most sensible here.
"If I had taken that blood test when you told me…" Don started.
"Don, listen to me! Even if ya'd taken it when I told ya… there was nothing ya could've done anyway! LH told ya the disease was developing twice faster on Leo" I said using all the patience I had.
"It's just… it's…"
"I know it's hard, Donnie… but we can't do anything. Stop feeling guilty… ya don't deserve to feel like that!"
"It's not fair, Raph. Why him?" That was the last him I heard from him before he collapsed on tears.
What could I say now? We're all shocked, scared and sad… but this is harder for Donnie. He and Leo are very close to each other; they know each other very well; Leo is Don's inspiration… maybe his hero… in sort a way. And… he can't save him. Donnie can't save his hero. If he can't do it… then nobody can. I can't imagine what would it be when… when Leo… well, y'know… when his time comes. *sigh* I better let Donnie alone. I'll talk to him later.