April was tired of sitting, but she was also weary of watching Greg pace. "Do you think you could sit down for while? You're wearing me out just looking at you."

Greg dropped into a chair nearby her with a sigh, but his eyes trained downward to focus on the floor.

"You know it's going to be all right," April mentioned once more. "The military will have things in hand, and they wouldn't have agreed to taking them if they weren't ready to travel. But I know there's more on your mind than Marc, Brandon, and I heading home. Would you like to talk about it Greg?"

"There's nothing to say, besides what's already been said," he answered stiffly. "I can't stand that we let ourselves get cut off from Mike. They would never have done to us, what we had to do to one of them. All we had to do was stay together."

"You can keep going back over it, and it's not ever going to make it any easier. Are you forgetting that you got shot Greg?"

"I was grazed. There's a huge difference."

"Actually, it's a very small difference," she had to point out. "Only inches when you think about it. You risked your lives to keep looking for them."

"It doesn't change anything," he said shortly, and then glanced over apologetically. "Sorry. I'm tired, I feel guilty...and I just want to get myself to Mbandaka and go to work."

Greg checked his pocket for his wallet, and rifled through a couple of bills. "I've got to get some caffeine in me April. Do you mind sitting here with Brandon? I could bring something back for the both of us."

"Make it three," Brandon murmured from behind closed eye-lids.

April immediately scooted her chair closer to his side, and rested a light hand on his arm. "Hey Brandon. Nice to hear from you again."

The prone man blinked slowly, and then granted the closest thing to a smile that he could manage. "What are you doing with me? What about your husband?" He didn't have much volume, but it was his first venture back into complete sentences, so April wasn't going to complain.

"He's getting some much needed rest, so I thought I'd check in on you," she answered, and then motioned to a curtain to her right. "He's not far away in any case."

Brandon glanced that direction with his eyes, but didn't so much as attempt to move anything. "When do you plan on resting?"

"I have my entire life to get back to that. Do you want some water?"

As he accepted a couple of sips through the straw she offered, Greg came up behind April, and raised a mute hand in greeting toward Brandon.

"Don't spend all your time feeling bad Heff. You've got a job to do," Brandon told him, sounding as if he'd heard more of the conversation than he'd let on initially.

Greg nodded. "I was in contact with the military transport coming from Kinshasa about two hours ago. They're supposed to be here before sundown, and they're going to get you guys out of the country."

A soft breath escaped Brandon. "I wish I didn't have to go."

"Bran, if we don't send you home, I'm pretty sure that Kat will be on the next flight out here." Greg actually chuckled. "She'll drag you home by your earlobes if she has to, so don't waste any energy fighting it. You know it's the best thing for you."

"Wanting to do something and being able to do it are two very different things, I know," Brandon said more raggedly. "I'm just saying I'd rather be here, helping find them. Stop killing yourself over what happened, and get ready for the next step."

"I don't particularly care for your choice of words Brandon," April remarked.

The man raised a hand a couple of inches helplessly to her, and then shifted his gaze back to Greg, as if intentionally avoiding addressing the comment. "Weren't you 'spose to be getting us something to drink?"

"You're not getting caffeine, even I know better than that." Greg smiled, and gave the mattress a parting tap as he straightened up from leaning over. "How about it though April?"

"If you're going anyway, I'd take some," she replied, and turned her attention back to Brandon. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?"

His closed his eyes briefly. "I'll feel comfortable when everybody's home safe. I wish that you guys hadn't told my sisters that I almost...y'know. They're not ever going to let me out of their sight again." His voice was already more faint, and she could tell he was having to exert effort to maintain any volume.

"They're your sisters Brandon, we had to tell them. They would have found out eventually. Why don't you relax now? No more talking."

His usually warm brown eyes still bore witness to the ordeal his body had recently been through, but they still seemed to resist the urge to stay closed.

"I understand this is a tough position, it's hard on all of us. You're not going to help anything by staying awake. The guys are going to find Mikey, you know they won't rest until they do." April tried to soothe him.

"I just wanna be here when..." he mumbled, not capable of finishing the thought.

"You'll see him again soon, and everyone else. Now hush, and go back to sleep."


Leonardo was struggling to deal with the incessant roar that was still manifesting in his left ear. He'd been so tired before that sleep came regardless, but with the passing of another day and the return of a little more energy, it was now hindering his rest. The blue-masked turtle tossed and turned for awhile, until finally sitting up with a frustrated grunt.

His gaze hit on Donatello to his left, and he was relieved to see that his brother appeared to be sleeping comfortably enough. Donatello was still lying on his plastron to prevent putting more pressure on the shrapnel wounds in his leg, but didn't look like he was suffering. Leonardo had regretted stealing a glance at the injuries when Luke had been irrigating the site that day.

I wish it had been me, he thought ruefully. Donny's had to deal with enough trauma regarding this junk.

The red-masked turtle seemed to be asleep too, stretched out just beyond him and Donny, positioned nearly at their feet. Leonardo felt a sense of pride rising in him over Raphael's handling of the situation.

I guess he really came through for Doc...and as frustrating as all this has been, he hasn't been at risk for storming off once. Leonardo couldn't help but wonder how his passionate brother's anxiety was actually being vented. The thought had hardly crossed his mind, when Raphael suddenly raised his head a few inches off the ground.

"Hey," his brother greeted him crossly. "What are you doing up Fearless?"

"I don't know if this can actually be considered up."

"You know what I mean Leo. How come you ain't sleeping? Don't try and tell me you're not tired."

"No, it's not that Raph. It's just this ear, it's um...I wish I could shut it off somehow."

A pained expression passed Raphael's face, and he glanced beyond Leonardo to where Luke was lying.

The blue-masked turtle quickly shook his head. "There's nothing he can do here but drug me Raph, and it's not worth wasting for that. We should be conserving every drop that we have. I need to find ways to acclimate myself to this anyway, learn to adapt. I can't do that if I'm leaning on drugs."

"Don't talk like this is permanent Leo," Raphael objected. "You heard Doc, he said it should be temporary."

"Should doesn't mean it will be," Leonardo said simply. He cringed at the anxiety in his brother's eyes, and tried to offer him a real smile. "But Luke pretty much knows what he's talking about, right? That's why we've kept him around for so long."

Raphael snorted quietly. "That sure ain't the only reason he sticks around. He requires Mikey's cooking just to survive."

Speaking their missing brother's name out loud forced an almost visible shadow to cloud Raphael's features, and the red-masked turtle drew himself upright against the side of the cavern.

"I tell you Leo, I don't know how long I can keep this up. I'm holding in as much as I can, but if I don't get to do something soon, I'm probably gonna have to bust a hole through this wall."

"You've been remarkably restrained," Leonardo acknowledged. "I appreciate it Raph, everything you've done to support us, and help hold things together. A real run would probably do you a world of good, but I don't like the thought of anyone splitting off alone right now, anymore than Doc or Kirkland does."

"Well, I 'spose I just have to wait until you can get off your own shell." Raphael smirked in a familiar manner.

"I'll take you up on that, the minute Doc signs me off. In the meantime...how are you holding up with the other thing?"

"They said Brandon's talking more," Raphael replied. "I'm glad they're getting out of this place, but part of me wishes I coulda seen him, just for reassurance. When they took him down to Beni, we still didn't know if he'd make it Leo. That was one of the worst feelings I've ever had."

Leonardo rested his elbows harder on the floor, his own brow furrowing as he remembered. "I know what you're talking about Raph. That night when you were nearly killed by the Akiudo, and I was stuck driving the stupid van home...Somehow, it felt harder because I couldn't see you. There wasn't anything I could have done to help at that point, but it didn't change my wanting to be with you. That is one night of several that I wish I could completely erase from my memory."

The statement had barely left his mouth before Leonardo realized what he'd said, and had the temptation to smack his own forehead.

The red-masked turtle only rolled his eyes at him. "You've got a way with words, you know that Leo? Amnesia's nothing to wish for, believe me. But part of me would rather deal with that all over, than face what we went through with Brandon ever again."