Hey guys! It's Friday, I almost forgot to post! Sorry about that. Hehe. anyway, yea. This chapter is pretty intense, and also Leo-centric (though he isn't in some of the scenes). Anyway, yeah. I hope you enjoy! Also, I think Fanfiction has been losing some of your reviews?! Really sorry about that, I'm trying to track them down. :/
To SuperStarSykor58: I'm glad you liked that dream! I was honestly worried that it would be weird or something.
To S.S. Chewie: haha yeaaaaaa. Things are about to get a whole lot less-good. :)
To efarraiz: omg your reviews always make me blush! I'm honestly very flattered that you think I have a gift, I really am. And your review made me smile even though I've had a not-so-good day. Thank you, friend. *hugs*
To Ladybug: pneumonia…?! Hehehehehehe. *Sweats nervously* whaaaaaaaat? Hahaha...haha...ha….
To Skye7Diamond: like I said before, I think fanfiction has been eating reviews, so sorry about that. Don't worry about Slash…. *nervous laughter* worry about the bois.
To Raphfangirl28070: wow I didn't even notice English wasn't your first language?! Don't worry about it man! It's so kool really, how people from all over the world can connect through things likes this!
To GlaceonSnow: w-well…. Well, thank you! I… I'm really shocked at how many people love this?! As for romance…. Sorry to break it to you but this fic ain't over quite yet. Hehe. and as for Slash doing something to Leo… ur close. Mwahahaha.
To JustABystander: th-thanks! This fic isn't completely Leo-Centric, but this chappie sure is! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT!
And now, the chapter!
Mikey hummed under his breath while he sat at his desk, drawing. Klunk was sitting at his feet, his shaggy dog head rested on his paws as he dozed, and Mikey knew that Don and Raph were hanging out in the garage, working on Leo's truck and that Leo was napping in his bedroom, and Mom and Dad were at the restaurant. The reason they were working on the truck was because Raph had gotten his license, and couldn't take it out until it had an oil change. But Mikey thought the two of them just liked working with those kinds of things. After finding out that they were biologically related, Mikey didn't see how he hadn't noticed. Yeah, Raph had red hair and green eyes while Donnie had brown of both, but other than that, and the height difference, Raph was short, their facial features were very similar, specifically their noses. Mikey stuck his tongue out as he sketched a roughly triangular shape on the page, in between where the two ovals were. As he did this, Klunk suddenly sat straight up, head erect and ears perked up, listening.
"Klunk?" Mikey asked, looking down at his pet. "What's going on boy?" the service dog, luckily, didn't reply. Instead, he got to his feet and pawed at Mikey's closed door. Mikey sighed.
"It's cold, but if you want a walk I guess you can have one, oh your majesty." he opened the door, and klunk bolted out, though not in the direction of the stairs as Mikey had anticipated. "Klunk?" he called, the small dog ignored him and trotted into the bathroom. Mikey noticed more details about the hallway, now. Leo's door was thrown uncharacteristically carelessly open, and as he hesitated the sound of retching echoed from the bathroom. Mikey ran to the door and fell to his knees beside Leo, who was bent over the toilet bowl, pale and shaky as he vomited into it.
"Leo! Are you ok?" he asked stupidly, Leo just had time to look at Mikey and roll his eyes before coughing vomit and spit into the toilet again. Mikey touched his brother's arm to find it hot to the touch. "I'm getting Donnie!" Mikey declared, getting to his feet. Klunk took his place beside Leo, placing his white and orange head on the older boy's knee. Mikey ran out the hallway and down the stairs, eyes wide. "Donnie!" he called, skidding through the kitchen to haul open the garage door. "Donnie!"
"What is it, Mikey?" Donatello asked from where he had just closed the hood of Leo's blue truck, he saw Mikey's face and frowned. "Mikey, what's wrong?"
"Leo's sick!" Mikey said, wringing his hands. "He's throwing up and he's really really hot! I don't know what to-" but Raphael had already pushed past him and was at the base up the stairs, Donnie right behind him. Mikey followed, hearing his brother's soft cries of distress even from there. When they got back to the bathroom, it was obvious Leo was not sick with a cold like he'd been claiming the past week or so. Don had gently moved klunk out of the way and knelt beside Leo, who was resting his forehead on one arm, which was across the toilet bowl.
"Leo, it's ok." Mikey heard Don murmur, "breath deeply, alright?"
"Hurts." Leo murmured somewhat deliriously, "hurts to breath deep." Mikey wrung his hands and then realized Raphael had left, and was now back, pushing past him again to stick a thermometer under Leo's arm.
"Do you feel warm?" Don asked, "Mikey get him some water." Mikey grabbed a paper cup from the counter and filled it with tap water, handing it to Donnie who pushed it to Leo's lips.
"Cold," Leo said, then pushed the cup away, coughing into his fist. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph looked at each other. When Leo removed his fist to wipe the mucus off, it had a small streak of blood.
"Holy crap, Donnie, how high are fevers supposed to be?" Raph asked, squinting at the thermometer. Don frowned.
"Depends, what is it?"
"With da stupid added degree thing?" Raph asked, "104.2, why?"
"Crap." Donnie muttered, "Leo, how long have you felt so sick?"
"It's just a cold, Donnie." Leo insisted, "I'm not sick, it's just so freezing in this house." Mikey frowned.
"No it's not, the furnace is on, Leo." he said softly, "why do you think it's freezing?"
"When people have fevers, they feel cold." Don explained, "come on, Leo, I think you need to go to the emergency room." Mikey bit his lip nervously as Leo frowned, then started coughing again.
"Don't feel that good, Don." Leo agreed, betting the brothers help him to his feet. Mikey ran to Leo's room and grabbed his jacket and a blanket, which they wrapped around their brother on their way down the stairs.
"Yer gonna be alright." Raph muttered, "Mikey, call Shen, my phone's on da counter." Mikey nodded and then dashed down the stairs ahead of them, picking up Raphael's cell from the counter and jamming his thumb onto the call button on Mom's contact. He held it to his ear, hovering anxiously over the other three as they walked next to Leo out to the truck, it's a good thing Raph got his license.
"Hello?" Mom asked. Mikey let out a sigh of relief.
"Mom!"
"Raph?"
"Huh? Oh, this is Mikey." Mikey explained, "Mom, we're going to the emergency room-" Don facepalmed and Raph groaned as Mom interrupted him.
"What? Why? Michelangelo what happened?"
"Oh yeah," Mikey laughed nervously. "Leo's like, really sick, he was puking and he had a fever and Donnie says it's really high, like 104 or something, so we're going to the emergency room. Raph told me to call you for some reason, I guess to let you know or something?"
"We'll be right there." Mikey heard something being shuffled around in the background, "I need to go, Mikey."
"Yeah, huh!" Mikey agreed, hanging up and stuffing Raph's phone in his pocket since the green-eyed boy was already in the driver's seat, Don was in the back seat with Leo, who had fallen asleep. Mikey hit the button on the garage opener and climbed into the passenger seat as Raphael slowly maneuvered out of the driveway.
"Where's da ER?" he asked, Don replied with a series of directions that Mikey couldn't wrap his head around, but Raphael nodded and started off down the street, peaking at the speed limit.
"Is Leo gonna be ok?" Mikey asked softly, Raph smiled sideways at him, one eye on the road.
"A' course he's gonna be ok." he said, "he's Leo." Mikey smiled and turned on the radio, humming along to the song that came on. It seemed like hours, but must have been minutes later when they arrived at the Emergency Room pull in. "a'right, how do we do this?" Raph wondered, "jus' walk in?"
"Yeah, come on." Don shook Leo awake, and Leo squinted up at him.
"Don? Where- the emergency room? I don't feel good." he coughed into his fist, a sound that sounded like gravel under a car tire rattling from his chest, Mikey frowned.
"Come on Leo," he encouraged, "I bet you get a lollipop!" Leo and Don got out of the car and Raph had already run into the doors, Mikey turned the car off and pulled out the keys. When they entered, a nurse greeted them.
"Hello, what seems to be trouble? I assume you're accompanying that young man?" she nodded backward to where Raph was standing moodily by the counter, when he saw them he hurried over. "Are you alright?" she added to Leo, Leo coughed.
"Where are your parents?"
"They're coming." Donnie said, "Leo's been sick for a few days, we thought it was a cold, turns out it wasn't."
"Well, we aren't that full right now." the nurse said, "and your friend seemed very anxious to get this one looked at; come with me, Leo." she said comfortingly before looking at Don. "as soon as your parents get here they need to start signing him in, but we can start without them." Mikey frowned, looking from Donnie to Leo, as he was guided away into an examination room.
"Why can't we go with?" he complained, Don laughed.
"Because we aren't really allowed to, and we aren't adults. Let's go sit down." they sat in the waiting room chairs and Raphael sighed, jogging one leg up and down. Mikey took out his phone and handed it to him, with the keys.
"Oh, yeah, thanks Mike," he said, smiling as he accepted them. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Mikey watched nurses and doctors go in and out of the sectioned off area they'd taken Leo. he hoped Leo was alright.
'Dear God, please help Leo! He's so sick, I want him to be ok! And even though I don't know if he's like me or Raph, whether he believes in you or not, but if what I know is true then you don't care whether he believes! He's such a great brother, please help Leo be ok! I need him to be ok, god, please? Sincerely, Michelangelo.'
"What do you think's wrong?" he finally asked Don, who frowned.
"It could be a number of things, most likely pneumonia, but I'm no doctor, Mikey, and I'm not sure."
"Will he need surgery?" Mikey asked in worry, Don laughed.
"Probably not." he promised, "but, maybe." Mikey frowned at this and looked over at the entrance as Mom and Dad came in, obviously flustered.
"Hi Mom!" he called, waving. The two adults hurried over to them.
"Where is Leonardo?" Dad asked, scanning the waiting area.
"They aren't busy." Don said, "so they took him in pretty much right away, it's been about a half hour. They wanted you to sign him in and do paperwork and stuff because we're minors."
"Of course." Dad nodded, turning and walking to the desk, Mom sighed and fell into the chair beside Raph.
"Nice parking job out there," she commented slyly, Raph flushed.
"Geez, Don freaked me out I was panickin'." he grumbled, "'sides, Mike got da keys out." Mikey giggled as Mom rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I got a license, I can't be dat bad."
"Shen." Dad's voice called, Mom looked over and then joined him at the counter, where a doctor and a nurse were waiting, and after a hurried conversation, they followed the doctors into the room where Leo was. Mikey sighed and leaned against Donnie's shoulder, and then sat upright, eyes wide.
"We forgot klunk! He's still at home, all alone!" he said in despair, "Donnie, what if we don't go back soon? What if Klunk starves?"
"He'll be fine, we'll be back by tonight," Donnie promised, hugging Mikey with one arm. "I promise." Mikey sighed, leaning back on his brother.
"I guess." he agreed, half shrugging. "I just wish Leo wasn't sick."
"Me too, Mikey." Don sighed, "me too." the three sat in silence for a while, listening to intercom calls, footsteps, hushed voices, and beeping noises. Finally, Mikey looked up and saw Leo on a hospital bed, being pushed down the hall toward an elevator.
"Leo!" he gasped, pulling away from Donnie and jumping to his feet, "where are they taking him?!" Dad caught him as he tried to follow.
"Michelangelo, it is alright." he promised, "they have admitted Leonardo to the hospital, he is going to be alright."
"Why? What's wrong with him?" Mikey begged, watching the elevator doors slide shut.
"Your brother has a sickness in his lungs, very severe pneumonia, the doctors are going to make him better, Michelangelo." Mikey hugged dad tightly.
"Are you sure? What if he gets too sick?"
"He will not." Dad promised, "Michelangelo, Leonardo is going to be alright. Shen and I are going to stay with him, but I think you boys should go home." he looked over Mikey's head to Raph and Donnie. "Raphael, will you be alright with that? You may order pizza."
"Yeah." Raph blew out a slow breath. "I guess so, but ya bettah call us if ya find anythin' out."
"Of course, Raphael." Dad assured him, "you boys should go now, it is nearly time for dinner; you will be alright." he ruffled Mikey's hair, the blue-eyed teen still hugged him tightly, he didn't want to let go.
"Can I stay here with you?" he begged, "I want to stay here!" Dad sighed and looked up at Mom, who smiled and shrugged.
"Very well, Michelangelo, you may stay here. Raphael, Donatello, if he changes his mind would you mind driving back to get him later?"
"Of course," Don promised, while Raph just nodded. "Come on, Raph, I'll call the pizza place while you drive." Mikey was still hugging dad as he watched them leave, and dad put his hands on Mikey's shoulders, pushing him back and squatting to look him in the eyes.
"It is alright, my son, let us go to Leonardo's room. He is getting x-rays at the moment, but you and Shen may wait for him. I am going to be with Leonardo there, alright?" Mikey nodded and the group of three walked into the hospital part of the building, Dad split off from them after a few moments, following the bed toward the room with the x-ray machines, and Mikey and mom went to a room where the nurse was spreading clean sheets on the bed.
"Hello, Mrs. Hamato." she greeted, then leaned down to Mikey. "And who might you be? Leonardo's brother?"
"yeah huh! I'm Mikey." Mikey agreed, looking around anxiously. He didn't have particularly fond memories of hospitals, but he had still wanted to stay with Mom and Dad. Mom walked to the bench in the window sill and Mikey took a seat on the chair, by the lamp. The nurse left and Mikey sighed, running a hand through his hair. A piece of paper and a pack of crayons caught his eye in a box on a shelf, and he walked over to retrieve it, sitting cross-legged in the chair with the paper on a book. Leo would probably like pictures for his room; who knew how long he'd be here?
Okay so I know most people may not get admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, but Leo being Leo he tried to pretend he was fine for a long time before he got too sick. And he has a kind of the sickness that could turn very bad very fast if left untreated. There will be more on this later, though, so hang tight! The next chapter has more info about Leo… and has a surprise I think will shock all of you! Thank you for reading and please review!
Until Tuesday,
-Jelly