Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the property of Viacom, Nickelodeon, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and all organizations associated with said names. This is non-profit.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Exile
by BrownEyedBirdie

Author's Notes: Welcome back! I'm not in the witness protection program; to be honest, I'm rather excited of the reaction some of you had to my last chapter. Now we enter a new arc of the aftermath of the blow up. This will be the longest arc so far. And to those who are asking about Leo, your patience is going to be rewarded (an unconscious turtle does not a story make…all the time). Weiterlesen!

Chapter 10 – Ice Coffee

Some unspoken agreement seemed to have been set in the house not to talk about Donnie and April's fight. This included Donnie and April. Although they barely spoke, it was clear that they both were trying to keep the situation as normal as possible. Casey seemed to be quietly ecstatic over the new arrangement and took advantage of the closeness with April as they counted up the money earned from their eggs. It was short lived since Donnie seemed completely uninterested. Donnie spent most of his time working as the Mr. Fix-It-All of the house, which April expressed in grateful, but terse tones. Donnie would only shrug. And so the days drifted by with tense silences and conversations nearly as warm as the air outside.

"Are those two ever gonna get it together?" Mikey asked Raph one evening in the kitchen.

"Who knows," Raph said, "It's not our business, Mikey, it's theirs."

Raph had full nursing duties for Leo in addition to the inevitable training he would have to start. While everyone agreed and respected Raph's desire to do his part for Leo, Donnie did come up to check progress. Raph noted that with each visit, Donnie looked more and more concerned, especially about Leo's leg. But Donnie would say nothing. And Raph wouldn't ask, knowing that Donnie would tell him eventually.

"Try not to worry about it," Raph told Mikey, "They'll be fine."

Raph stood up and cracked his neck.

"I'm sitting with Leo tonight," he said, "Tell Donnie he'd better sleep in the room tonight and now crash down here."

"You know he'll fall asleep anyway," Mikey said. Then he paused.

"Can I sit with you?" he asked.

"I want you to get to sleep," Raph said, "Time for all of us to get back onto a schedule. Training will be starting before too long."

Mikey groaned as Raph smirked and left the room. But even Raph was starting to get annoyed by the situation. Not training was taking its toll on everyone and he knew he would have to figure something out. Up in the bedroom, Leo lay asleep on the bed uncovered.

"Donnie must have done another hydration," Raph told Leo, "I can't wait until it's warm enough to have you out of bed."

Raph pulled up the rocking chair in the room and sat down beside Leo's bedside. Outside, the darkness was overcast with clouds, as it had been for days.

"You should see Donnie, Leo," Raph said, "You'd be proud of him, bro. Still, Mikey's right, he and April need a good talking too."

Raph settled further back in the chair and toyed with his sai. From downstairs, he could hear the sound of the television and dishes being washed up in the kitchen. As the hours drifted by, he heard the television turn off and the sound of feet going up the stairs and into rooms.

"This house is weird when it's silent," Raph said, "You can hear everything settling down. But that's your thing, bro."

Raph yawned and stretched as another hour went past. Not for the first time did he find himself wishing to get a cup of Donnie's coffee. But the smell and taste was disgusting.

"Well, maybe Donnie can get me something else," Raph said, "You'll be okay by yourself for a little bit, Leo?"

The steady rise and fall of Leo's chest was his only answer.

"I'll be back soon," Raph said and walked quietly out the door. He looked into the family room and saw that Donnie was not there. He considered going back to check the shared bedroom, but remembered that it was Donnie's turn for patrol. He'd be gone for another few hours.

"So much for asking for Donnie's help," Raph grumbled. He wandered toward the kitchen and saw the light was still on.

"Terrific, Mikey left the light on again," Raph grumbled, "Better turn it off before Donnie finds out and rips him a new one."

The warm glow of the kitchen made Raph feel a little less sleepy. The freezer was open and Raph was surprised to see Mikey pulling out containers of ice cream and humming.

"Mikey?" Raph asked. Mikey turned to smile at him.

"Hey Raph," Mikey said.

"What are you doing up?" Raph asked.

"Oh, I wasn't sleepy," Mikey said. Raph's eyes narrowed.

"Really, I tried sleeping, but I just couldn't," Mikey said, "What about you?"

"I'm falling asleep," Raph said, "I came down to see if Donnie was here."

"He's out on patrol," Mikey said.

"Yeah, I know," Raph said testily.

"Well, if you knew, why'd you come down?" Mikey asked. His eyes grew wider, "Is Leo awake?"

"No," Raph said, "I just came downstairs to see if I could get some coffee."

"You hate coffee," Mikey said, clearly confused.

"Yeah, well, I'm out of options."

"You could try just going to sleep."

"No way!" Raph shouted. Mikey cringed and Raph took a deep breath.

"Come on," Mikey wheedled, "You know Master Splinter always said sleep was important."

"Yeah, yeah," Raph said, "'Sleeping people can't fall down.'"

"I never knew what he meant," Mikey said, "I mean, yeah, when you're asleep, you're already lying down."

"Don't sweat it, Mikey," Raph said, "I'm going to go back to Leo."

"Wait, I think I can make you some coffee," Mikey said, "Give me a few minutes."

He sat Raph down in a chair and got to work in the kitchen. Raph couldn't help but notice that Mikey seemed to move much more slowly than he normally did. He watched as Mikey flipped on the coffee maker and pulled out milk and ice cubes. Raph barely had time to think what Mikey had managed before a tall glass was placed in front of him.

"Tada!" Mikey said, "I call it iced coffee."

"Nice try, Name Brain," Raph said, "But that's already what it's called."

"Oh," Mikey said, "Guess I'd better rethink the name for when I do this for Master Splinter's tea."

Raph rolled his eyes and took a sip. He sighed happily.

"Donnie makes it really strong," Mikey explained, "And he takes it black. Leo showed me how to make it taste a little sweeter."

"Leo drinks this?" Raph asked. Mikey nodded.

"He said Donnie always would have been better off drinking tar," Mikey said. They both shared a light laugh. Raph drank the rest of his cup and Mikey made a second for him. Raph noticed that Mikey hadn't touched his own drink.

"That is good," Raph sighed, "Okay, so what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked, "I'm fine."

"Try again," Raph said, "I've known you long enough to recognize when you've got something on your mind. Spit it out." Mikey looked away for a few minutes.

"It's not a big deal," he said at last, "I've just been having bad dreams. I've been having them since we got here, but the last week or so, they've gotten worse."

"What are they about?" Raph asked, having a pretty good guess.

"It's just remembering New York," Mikey said, "I always wake up before anything really happens."

"Until now," Raph guessed. Mikey flinched and nodded.

"It was last night," Mikey said, "I felt like I couldn't wake up. I kept feeling like there was something keeping me there."

"What do you mean by 'keeping you there'," Raph said.

"When the dreams first started, I just saw things that scared me, but I always woke up. But in the last few weeks, it's been like reliving everything in New York over and over. And last night, I saw everything that could have happened. I saw Leo coming through the window and us leaving him behind. I saw you taking on the Shredder and being so angry and I couldn't stop you. And I saw April and Donnie getting killed in the Turtle Mech. Then I was all alone because Casey never came back."

Raph saw Mikey rub his eyes.

"I couldn't wake up," he said, "I felt like I was being held down and saw the Kraang and the Shredder taking over."

"What finally made you wake up in the end?" Raph asked.

"Casey hit me in the head," Mikey said, "His sleeping mat is right next to mine and he rolled over in his sleep."

Raph took a moment to drink more of his coffee while Mikey composed himself. His drink was still untouched.

"Mikey, have you told Donnie about this?" Raph asked.

"No," Mikey said, "I didn't want to bother him. He's got enough to deal with after…" Mikey didn't finish the sentence.

"You're going to need to tell him, " Raph said, "For all I know, along with all the other stuff our brainiac brother can do, he can probably explain the dream."

Raph squeezed Mikey's shoulder.

"But remember that those things never happened," he said, "You know we're all here and fine."

"But it could have," Mikey said, "And now April and Donnie fighting makes it harder too."

"I know, little brother," Raph said, "But it's like I told you before. They'll sort things out and Donnie will be the same old love struck nerd he was before."

Mikey laughed and yawned. Raph stood up from the table.

"Why don't you come and hang out with Leo and me tonight," Raph said, "You'll have a little space and maybe being around your big brothers will make it a bit easier."

"Can I really?" Mikey asked hopefully. Then he frowned.

"What if I dream again and can't wake up?" Mikey asked.

"You will," Raph said, "Just remember that it's not real. Nothing happened; we're all safe here. You, me, Leo, Donnie, April and Casey. And we're not going to be defeated."

"Mikey smiled slightly. They picked up their drinks and went back up to the bedrooms, Mikey stopping only to get his mat which he spread out at the foot of the bed. Raph rested in the chair as Mikey got comfortable

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep too?" he asked.

"Later," Raph said, "Thanks for the coffee. Maybe you can show me how to brew it myself next time."

Mikey climbed under the blanket and was out very quickly.

"He must have been exhausted," Raph told Leo, "He's a lot tougher than we ever gave him credit for."

Raph looked at the still untouched glass of coffee and picked it up.

"No sense wasting it," he said and drained it. Raph head a heavy sigh. Downstairs, he could hear the faint sound of Donnie coming in from outside. Raph listened for awhile as Donnie put away the warm suit and settled in the family room. He would be there for hours, jotting down notes and formulas for the medicine for Leo.

"I suppose I shouldn't complain about Donnie keeping weird hours if he succeeds," Raph said, "But he really needs to find a place to work in."

From across the hall, he heard Casey's chainsaw snore and the quiet breathing of April in the room next door. He reached down and pulled the blanket up over Mikey's shoulders.

"We're all here, Mikey," Raph said. He looked back at Leo.

"We're all here, Leo," Raph said, "We're safe."

Raph sat guard over his brothers. Leo slept on and Mikey dreamed no dreams.

*()()()*

Just a little Raph and Mikey fluff for everyone. I realize that there's very little to draw in the Leo fans at this point, simply because he's unconscious. But he's about to feature a bit more in the next few chapters and prominently in this arc. But, as I've said before, I am a fan of Donatello and, while I love all the Turtles in this new incarnation of the Turtles, Donnie has always been and will always be my favorite. That being said, I'm trying to make Leo less of a featured character and more of a motivation for everyone. I'll see you all next week!