Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT...or the song Danny Boy...

A/N: We're over halfway there! Hopefully, that news doesn't make you want to drop-kick me for being long winded. Ah, well, the updates continue! Thank you all for the hits, reads, and reviews! And Pinguin1993...totally called me out! Look who's found his way into the story!

The Doctor is In

"Leonardo?" The rumble of his friend's voice shook him from his reverie. He looked up, catching the glitter of eyes set against the ceiling. Leatherhead tipped his head. "You seem distracted. Are you certain about this?"

Leo shoved confidence across his face. "Of course. Are you ready?"

"I am."

The young turtle blew out a breath and reached for the handle. A flash of the ludicrousness of the situation rolled through him. He was nervous about entering his own bedroom. Second guessing an action he never thought about on any other day. Then again, he'd never had to go to face the ugly personification of himself on any of those days.

Steeling himself, he pushed past the threshold and scoured his room for Raphael. Everything seemed to be as he left it. The covers were still thrown back on his bed, several highlighted books were spread across his desk, his katanas were still sheathed and hung upon his wall, his bookcase…was slightly knocked askew.

Raphael was sitting in the tight corner, hedged in by the bookcase and Leonardo's dresser. How he had ever squeezed into the space was unfathomable. Raph leaned against the wall, palms open on his lap as he gazed at the grain patterns in the wood.

A familiar chill swept over Leo's shoulders. He felt the tingle which had been in Raphael's cell. That feeling of damp, cold walls and air tainted by urine and sweat. He crossed to his brother and sank to his haunches. "Hey, bud…"

Raphael looked up. All trace of "Leonardo's" personality had been wiped from him. He reached for the leader's bandana and his wrist was caught by deft fingers. Leo pushed his hand down, instead pressing a cold glass into the other's palm. "You need to drink, Raph."

He looked into it, tilting the glass so the surface shimmered in the light. A small huff of defeat passed his nose and Raphael cocked his head back to down the glass in four swallows. Panting, he offered the empty cup back.

"Do you need more?"

Raph frowned, as if he couldn't even conceive the notion that more was an option. So he dropped his attention back to his fingers.

Leo glanced aside as Leatherhead peered over his shoulder. His friend's eyes were wide at the mellowness of the largest turtle brother. The small case he had brought along hung from loose fingers. Leo gave him a weak attempt at a reassuring smile. He looked to Raphael and gingerly reached into the space to touch his knee.

"Hey, Raph? I brought Leatherhead to see you."

Raphael lifted his eyes, took in the sight of the massive crocodile, and looked back to Leo with indifference. Leo cocked his head. "You know Leatherhead, Raph. Our friend?"

Light flickered within the blank irises. Raphael sat a little straighter and frowned. "Michelangelo?"

Leo's smile dropped at a breath which snaked between dozens of teeth. "No. No, Raph. What happened with Mikey was an accident, remember? Everything turned out to be okay."

Raph scowled at the larger mutant and drew his knees to his chest, but no further recognition seemed to ignite. Leo considered a moment and bit his lip, wondering what reaction he would receive at his next words. He eased to his knees, rolling himself closer to his brother and whispered. "Remember how he helped us with Donnie?"

Raph's face filled with fear and he pressed back into his cubby hole. His hand inched for his side and a soft whine slid through his nose. Leo caught his wrist again, softening his eyes to reassure the panic which the movement earned him.

"Not the one you're afraid of, Raph. Not the one out here. In here." He reached farther into the hole and set his palm across Raphael's chest. "Donatello. Our Donnie. Remember? Leatherhead brought him back. He stopped Bishop's outbreak, right?"

Slowly, the darker chin lifted and fell.

"He's going to help you too, Raph. He's going to stop what Karai did."

"D-Donatello?"

"Now you."

Raphael swallowed, thickly. His hand slid to the top of the dresser and he hauled himself up. Grating his plastron against the sharp edge of the dresser, the rear side of his shell knocked into the bookshelf and rocked it back an inch. Everything on the shelves tumbled out of order. When he stood free of his own makeshift prison, Raph looked up, almost pleadingly, to Leatherhead.

"Stop."

LH smiled, sadly, and knelt, offering his palm to the turtle. Raph gazed at it, mildly, until the deeper voice sounded with a rolling chuckle. "May I see your hand, Raphael?"

Raph looked to Leo, uneasily, and the older brother nodded. "Trust us, Raph. Nothing bad is going to happen."

The emerald arm extended, resting his wrist across the mottled, brownish green palm of the crocodile.

Michelangelo pressed his ear to the door, stuffed his finger into the other, and snorted when all he got was muffled words. He knelt and stuck his head near the doorjamb before throwing his hands up, futilely. He considered stepping inside to ask if Leo would at least enunciate for eavesdroppers, but for once discretion won out over impulsiveness.

After all, this was Leo's room. There wasn't a place better equipped to sever, skewer, decapitate, and/or otherwise disembowel intruders. Especially nosey intruders who interrupted the delicate process of getting a blood sample from Raphael.

It just didn't seem smart.

Movement caught his eye from downstairs. Speaking of smarts…Mikey pushed from his useless task and hunched over the railing. Donatello was circling the living room, making the same endless loop he'd started almost two hours ago. His chin was caught between his thumb and forefinger and he kept his eyes downcast until he'd traveled to a point where he could send a glare towards Leo's room. Mikey watched a few rounds and then his head perked in interest. He flipped over the railing and landed in the center of Don's path.

"Dude, seriously, you have to stop."

Donnie blinked as his steps were cut short. Annoyance filled his face. "Stop? How can I stop? I don't have a clue how to begin! I have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to treat Raphael's condition; I actually can't fully understand his condition because he can't stand the sight of me! Ergo, I can't examine him! I don't know if this is even reversible and I'm pretty sure I'm this close to losing my mind because of all of this! Does that sound like something I can just stop, Michelangelo?"

Mikey frowned at him, warily, and then pointed to the floor. "I actually meant that you need to stop pacing." Donnie looked between his feet. "See? You're cutting across Leo's normal worry route. If it gets all warped, he's going to end up with back problems." His brother stared at him, incredulously and Mikey raised his hands. "But hey, do you have anything you need to get off your chest?"

Don wilted and rubbed at the knot in his neck. "Sorry. I…I guess I'm just not used to sitting on the bench. And it feels like it's all I have been doing lately."

Mikey gave him a punch to the shoulder. "Welcome to the world of the sidelines, you can hang out with me. My constant nagging to be involved doesn't seem so annoying now, does it?" Donnie chuckled and shook his head. "Just watch, Don, everything is going to be okay."

"How do you know?"

The orange turtle shrugged and went to the couch, plopping onto the armrest. "I just do."

"Well, that encouraging," Donnie smirked. "Except you didn't see what happened in the -"

"I know what happened," Mike said a little sharply, folding his arms. "It doesn't matter. Any minute now, you or Leo are going to have the revelation and it's all going to turn good. We'll get Raphie back."

Don's mouth pressed into a thin line. "The revelation?"

"Oh, come on," Mike scoffed. "You know, that point where everything seemed hopeless and there's no sign of the sunrise on the horizon. That's when the forgotten detail suddenly strikes and totally saves the day. It happens in movies all the time." He lifted his brow, expectantly. "So? Start revelating."

"What happens in that head of yours?" Donnie wondered with a small smile.

"Like you could survive in here long enough to find out," Mike grinned.

"The brain's a bit more complicated than a movie. You can't just snap your fingers and make everything okay, you know."

Mikey bounced his heels off the side of the couch. "Yeah, but Don -"

The door above creaked open and Donatello all but left a dust trail as he bolted for the stairs.

Mikey blinked after his sudden abandonment and slid off the armrest. "We still gotta hope…" He sighed and caught up with his brother at the base of the stairs. Leatherhead carefully eased his bulk down the steps, followed by Leonardo.

"I'm sorry, LH," Leo said quietly.

"It is nothing," the crocodile shook his head. "It does not surprise me his first recollection of me was my attack on Michelangelo. Do not worry," he gave his gentle and terrifying smile. "My skin is rather thick."

"What happened?" Donnie asked.

"I retrieved a sample," Leatherhead said, lifting the slender glass vial. "Donatello, I wondered if you would like to assist me in analyzing it?"

Don's face lit up before suddenly clouding over. He shot a suspicious look to Leonardo, who diligently began examining a loose bolt in the railing. Mikey flicked his eyes between them as the accusation worked up Donnie's throat. The scathing question of just who wanted the inventor to take a break from the lair thrummed unspoken between the four of them.

It was official. Leo's skill at sneakiness was at a level zero.

Mikey stepped forward and slapped his brother on the shell, breaking Don's death glare on the eldest. "C'mon, dude. You can bring the results back to us in a brown envelope. It'll be like an episode of Maury."

Donatello blinked and seemed to draw back from his dark stewing. He looked at Mike's eager grin, over to Leo, and back. Then something deep within his eyes seemed to break. He fell back a step, nervously cupping his hand over the opposite elbow. A softness filled his face which had been absent for far too long.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'd like to see what's going on…Thanks, LH."

Leatherhead smiled, relieved, and gestured for Donnie to lead the way. The scientists vanished out the front door, already trading results they might find. Leo tapped his fist off the railing. "Thanks, Mike."

"Yeah, well," Mikey shrugged, folding his arms across the uneasiness in his chest. "How you holding up?"

"Heh. I was gonna ask you that."

"That bad, huh?" Leo lifted his brow and Mikey grinned. "When you and Donnie get all tired and stuff, your grammar starts slipping."

He got a mystified smile. "What sort of things do you know?" Mikey stuck out his lip and Leo's eyes crinkled with a soft laugh. "Listen, I'm going topside to fill in April and Casey. If they get a call, they're going to want to come down here and I don't think Raph's ready for that yet. So, do you mind taking sentry duty?"

"Me? Here? Alone? With Raph? By myself?"

"He's not a rabid dog, Mike."

Mikey nodded, anxiously. "No, yeah, I know. But…what if he wants you? What if he takes off? What if he comes down here acting like me? What is he's hungry? What if…what if Karai shows up to take him back -"

Leo flicked him sharp on the beak, stopping the tirade. "That's enough of that," he said sternly. "Raph's still in my room and he's gone back into his quiet phase. Master Splinter is resting, but if anything happens, he can take over. Besides, I won't be gone more than a half hour. Odds are you won't have to worry about a thing."

Never trust the odds. It became Mikey's new motto. That, and Leonardo is a devious liar. Never trust him either.

Ten minutes after his brother had gone, Michelangelo had slumped into the couch and was clicking, rapid-fire, through the channels. How on earth is it possible that nine hundred channels couldn't offer up anything vaguely interesting to distract him? It wasn't as if he were overly picky about his viewing standards.

No, no, no, dumb, boring, no Buenos, meh, no, wait…no.

Click

The TV paused on a cooking show. Mikey stared through it as cold fear settled across his neck. He hit the mute button and slowly rotated his head towards the upstairs. He could not see Leonardo's room from this angle, but he was sure he had heard the door open. A minute later, soft footsteps moved along the hallway.

Mike was balanced on the back of the couch in a flash, rising to his toes. There, crouched before Donatello's door, was Raphael. He ran his finger along the top of the computer monitor still pressed against the bricks. He head cocked, thoughtfully, and then he spun to lock eyes with his brother.

Michelangelo fell off the couch. He scrambled around to the front and threw himself back onto the cushions, frantically flipping through the channels. His neck tingled at the sound of a heavier gait descending the stairs and passing behind him. Raphael disappeared into the bathroom without bothering to turn on the light or close the door. A moment later, after Mikey had to hum loudly to block out Raphael's answer to nature's call, the larger turtle silently crossed to Donatello's lab and trotted up the steps.

He paused to give the lopsided door a puzzled look. The top hinge had been torn free, leaving chunks of splintered wood scattered on the steps. The reminder of a fight he hadn't witnessed. Then he was gone into the dark interior of Don's sanctuary.

Mikey watched after him, twisting slick hands over the remote. He looked towards Splinter's room and back. Sighing, he tossed the remote over his shoulder and went to investigate. He peeked into the lab. Light filtered in from the living room, revealing Raphael standing before Don's computer. He gazed up at the shelves lining the wall. An open encyclopedia was in his hands.

Mikey eased into the room, absently scratching his plastron where he could still feel the outline of Raph's heel. He plastered an overly bright smile on his face. "H-hey."

Raph's knees buckled and he slammed the book shut. "Mikey," he breathed, "you scared me."

Warning bells rang between his ears. "Donnie…" he licked his lip and moved closer. "What are you looking for?"

Raph hastily shoved the book back into place. "Nothin'…I…" His eyes widened and he caught Mikey's bicep, not noticing how the muscle tightened beneath his hand. Horror filled his face. "Mikey…did she do this to you?"

Do? Do what? Mikey gaped at him for a moment before the dull pain above his sinuses came back to him. He'd forgotten about the bruises from his busted beak. Bruises which normally would have spurred muttered threats against whining. Instead, worry was etched across Raphael's mouth.

"Yeah," Mikey whispered, sadly searching his brother's eyes. "Yeah, Karai did this."

"Aw, Mike." Raph reached as if to touch the ugly blotches but Mikey moved back. Raph started, looked at his suspended hand, and let it fall with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I did not know that she had done this. I was not there to stop it…"

Oh, boy. He should have gotten Master Splinter first. "It's okay, D-Don. Look," he patted his chest. "All in one piece, just with a little extra character painted on." Raphael only gazed at him, mournfully. He sighed. "Seriously, what are you looking for?"

Another book was yanked down. Physics. Raph flipped to the middle of the book, looked the page over, and shoved it towards the other. "I…I don't understand. I can see the words. I can read them. I don't understand what they're trying to say. It's…" Raph rolled his hands, just as Donnie did when he'd gotten himself flustered trying to explain something and was getting zero comprehension from the other three. "Nothing is connecting in here," he touched his brow, "things that should be, Mikey. I look at this…and it's like I'm reading gibberish…"

He let out a frustrated grunt and sank into Don's chair, scrubbing at his mouth. Mikey looked at the book and felt his eyes lose focus after the first sentence. He shook his head and dropped it onto the desk. "Look, Ra…Don, it's okay. I bet you just need to rest a little longer…and it'll all click again." I hope, he added to himself.

Raph snorted. "Leo's not resting…"

"Leo's crazy."

A jolt shot down his spine as Raph jerked to his feet, shoving his beak an inch from the youngest's. Familiar fire ignited across the golden eyes. "Don't say that!" Raph hissed. "Leo's good."

Mikey stared at him, trembling as adrenaline pounded in his ears. "I-I-I…didn't say he was bad..."

"He's good," Raph said still with Don's softer voice. "She's lying about him, Mikey. Don't start to believe it…" he drew back, panting lightly. Mikey narrowed his eyes and slowly reached behind him to the light switch behind him. Fluorescents buzzed above them and Raph winced. Dark circles were under his eyes, too, and he looked pale and weak. A thin sheen of sweat was on his brow and he stumbled back into the seat.

"Leo's good…he's good…he's not the worst of us." Raph took a shaky breath. A shiver rocked through his shoulders. His tongue smacked when he swallowed.

"Donnie?" Mikey whispered, fearfully, dropping to his knees.

Raph studied the floor, his trembling fingers dangling between his legs. A soft chuckle radiated through his chest. Weary eyes lifted. "I am not really Donatello. You know that, right, Mike?"

His heart jumped. "Do you know that?"

"Of course," Raph said, "We're jes playin' the game, Mikey…"

"Raph? Raph, what are you -"

Mikey's words died in his throat as the life drained out of his brother's eyes. His face smoothed and became placid again. "The anchor is gone."

"Raph!" Mikey shook his shoulder, desperately. "What anchor? What are you talking about?"

Water gurgled through the piping above their heads and drew the older turtle's attention. A slight smile touched his mouth and to Mikey's utter shock, he became to sing low. "Oh, Donnie-boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…We're drifting, Michelangelo…"

"Raphie?"

"From glen to glen and down the mountainside…"

Mouth dry, Mike grabbed both of his brother's shoulders and gave him a sharp shake. Raph blinked and looked past him. "Raphael! Stop. You know you're not Donnie, you just said it!"

"Michelangelo…thievery, conspiracy…"

He pushed back, stepping away from his brother and fighting the sharp sting behind his eyes. Mikey looked around, helpless, his fingers hanging loose at his sides as Raph watched after him, completely blank. "Um…Raph, I'm going to get Master Splinter. Just…just don't touch anything, okay? I'm coming right back." He nodded, encouragingly, and made a beeline for the door.

Just as he neared the threshold, though, he froze.

"And I shall hear, though soft ye tread above me…and in my grave will richer, sweeter be."

He turned back.

Raph was singing at the computer. "And you'll bend down and tell me that you love me. And I shall rest in peace until you come…to…" He looked up, eyes glittering and still dead above a Cheshire cat grin.

Michelangelo fled for his father's bedroom.

* Um…sorry for creepy singing Raph. Danny Boy has been stuck in my head for a while and just slipped in…sorry, sorry. Spoiler alert, though: next chapter we finally find out why Raph has issues with the "outside" Donnie. Beware the room where the lights dance!

* Reviews, thoughts, critiques, please I love them all!