Raphael was here?
Donatello gulped. A dozen emotions ran through him before he settled on ambivalence. "Why?" he asked while opening his mouth for another spoonful of soup.
"I texted him and Leo after the first baby was born," Michelangelo explained. "Then, he must have suspected that things had taken a turn for the worse when he didn't get any more updates. So, he showed up at your door."
Donatello nodded. "Oh."
Michelangelo fed him another spoonful. "We'd already cut into you when he started pounding on the door. We were afraid he'd break it down, so I let him in. You were losing so much blood, and the babies were stuck. April had to keep cutting and cutting… He thought you were dying. For a minute there, we all did. Raphael totally broke down, Don." Mikey paused. "Casey had to drag him out of the room so that April could continue the operation."
Donatello blinked. His jaw dropped slack, and Michelangelo simply filled it with more soup. "It's a good thing that he came too, because you hemorrhaged and we ran out of stored blood. As you know, I can't donate to you, no matter how bad I might have wanted to. The blood needed to come from Raph, and he willingly gave it." Michelangelo chuckled. "I think he would have given you all of it if April had let him."
"How much?" Don rasped.
"How much blood did Raph donate?" Michelangelo asked.
Don nodded grimly.
"I think April said it was three pints," Michelangelo answered.
"Three pints!" Don sputtered. "That's too much! Where is he?"
Michelangelo had to smile. Donatello's voice had come back just enough to convey his outrage. Fortunately, it was still too quiet to wake the babies.
"He's resting on the sofa," Michelangelo replied. "And you can relax. April said he'll be fine."
"Bring'm," Donatello commanded.
"You're in no shape to be giving me orders," Michelangelo chuckled. "Besides, he needs to rest. You both do."
Donatello growled. It sounded quite threatening with his gravelly throat, although he was weak as a kitten. Don didn't care if Michelangelo had to drag the sofa to his bedside. He was going to speak to Raphael.
Michelangelo gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine. I'll go get him. Just keep in mind that he saved your shell. Your kids would be orphaned without him."
Donatello let that thought settle in while Michelangelo fetched his brother. Raphael was able to walk in under his own power. He flopped into a chair that was set at Don's bedside.
Raphael was pale from giving up so much blood, and he was hooked up to a bag of IV fluids himself. He wore a tentative smile that didn't extend to his eyes. "Hey," he whispered.
"Hey," Don mouthed, lifting his hand from his chest to give a weak wave. Donatello didn't know what he should be feeling about Raphael, or what he should be saying. He was overcome with gratefulness that he and his children were alive. So little else mattered. Whatever had happened between them, Raphael had been there when Don needed him most, pouring out his very lifeblood itself so that Don could live.
"Thanks," Don whispered. At least it was a start.
"No problem," Raphael replied.
They wallowed in exhausted but companionable silence for a while, then Raphael sighed. "Mikey told us when the first one was born. Then we waited and waited. And, when a half-day passed and there was no further word, we knew you were in trouble. Or worse, maybe you were gone. So, we came running. It's all we could do."
Don noticed the use of 'we.' "Leo?" he mouthed.
"He came here with me, but he didn't stay. I might not have either if you didn't need my blood. We weren't sure we were welcome here."
"You were," Donatello mouthed. "You always were." Don didn't know if his brother could understand his hoarse and quiet rasping.
Whether he did or not, Raphael continued. "I know we weren't treating you right. I know things got really weird, and awkward, and...hard, but, I thought… I thought we were working through it. I never expected you to just bail like that. I never expected you to walk out on us and then not come home. I didn't know you had that in you, Don. Especially not after what you said you saw during that whole Draco incident."
Donatello was surprised that Raphael was close to tears. "You didn't want me there. I had to go," he rasped.
"No," Raphael cried. "That was never true. We were just so scared of losing you forever. And Leo was so stressed. You know how he and I butt heads, so I was trying to do things his way to keep the peace. But I never wanted you to go. I'd do anything for you, Don. I really would. Haven't I proven that over and over through the years?"
Don furrowed his brow. That hit a nerve. "Not anything. You wouldn't even look at me, never mind hug me." He shook his head and pantomimed with his arms to make his point more clear. Then he raised his hand to his ear and mouth to simulate a phone. "You didn't even call."
"Of course we didn't call. We didn't think you wanted to hear from us. You've got to remember it was you that walked out on us, Don, not the other way around."
"I didn't walk out. Leo threw me out," Don rasped. "None of you stopped him."
"That was never meant to be permanent," Raphael explained. "Just until we were sure the Lair was safe. But then, you told us you were moving, asked us to box up your things. You sent April and Casey to pick them up instead of coming yourself. I cleaned this place up for you to move into, and you never even called to thank me, or invite me over."
Raphael frowned and continued. "You know, the thought of losing one of you guys has always been so terrifying to me. It was so hard to believe that you were going to be okay. I came right out and told anyone who would listen about how scared I was for you. I put myself out there and admitted that I was terrified. You know how hard that is for me. But, you said you and the babies would be fine, and I forced myself to trust you, despite all my instincts otherwise. I did everything that I could to help you, but you just kept pulling away. Then you left. I lost you anyway, despite how hard I was fighting for you. I was even fighting against myself to make you happy. But, I still lost you."
Raphael shook his head, sadly. "I knew you probably didn't want me around the babies. I'm too rowdy, too angry and impatient. I was trying so damn hard to be good, but I guess it just wasn't good enough. But still... even if you don't want me around, I'll always be here for whatever you need - my blood, my protection."
Raphael paused and took a deep breath before finishing. "Even though you didn't seem to want anything to do with me, when it really seemed like you were dying, I just could stay away. And, I know that you're okay now and that you don't need me anymore, but I still can't bring myself to leave, even though it hurts like shell to be here now."
Donatello didn't realize how much he had hurt his brother. He really should have learned that lesson after speaking to Michelangelo, and known enough to apply it to Raph. After all, Raphael probably had the least self-confidence out of all the turtles. Of course, he would've been feeling insecure. Now, it all seemed so clear.
Don locked eyes with Raphael. "I never wanted you to stay away. I never meant to make you think that. I'm so sorry, Raphael."
"To me, it seemed like you were giving up on us… You were going to have a family of your own, so you didn't need us anymore," Raphael whimpered.
Don reached out his hand and clasped his brother's. For the first time since he woke up, his voice was powerful and clear. "Never." It broke again with his next words. "I've always needed you. I always will."
"It doesn't always seem that way, Don. You're the smart one. The one who brings in the money. The one who gets along with everyone. The one with a family of your own now. A future. Why would you need us?"
Don smiled sleepily, his voice becoming a broken whisper once more. "Because I do. Your blood is in my veins."
For the moment, it was just that simple.
Donatello emerged from the shower, dressed in a tee-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms, which were covering up a network of stitches and protective wrappings. Casey and Michelangelo helped him hobble up to the cradles, which were all set up near Don's bedside. The youngest baby was the only one who was awake. "Hi," Don whispered to his second-born daughter. "Haven't seen much of you."
Casey carefully lowered Don onto the bed. After the spots cleared from his vision, Don lifted his arms, and Michelangelo handed him the baby girl.
While Michelangelo and Casey were helping Donatello clean himself up, April had disinfected the mattress protector, changed the sheets and tidied up the bedroom. It was now ready for some hard-core family bonding, and, hopefully, a marathon sleep-session. Everyone was exhausted, the newborns included.
Michelangelo went to check on Raphael, who had dozed off in the living room. Mikey settled in there for the time being. Casey decided to go pick up some food for everyone. The past couple of days had been intense, and he had wanted an excuse to get some air.
Donatello and April were left alone in the bedroom with all three babies. Don was mouthing some sort of heartfelt thank you, but April could barely make out what the new father was saying. His voice was still hoarse from over-exertion and his words were slurred with exhaustion. Beneath the clothes, he already looked so much smaller, but it was exceedingly clear just how tired he was. Every feature and movement was marked with it. April knew he wouldn't knowingly endanger one of the babies, but she couldn't help but worry that he was going to nod off and smother or drop his youngest. Just to be on the safe side, she slid into the bed beside him.
"You did such a great job tonight. I'm so proud of you," April said.
It was easier for her to hear Don's response now that she was nestled up against him. "Thanks, But you're the real hero in all this. Couldn't have done it without you," he rasped.
"I know," April said proudly. "It got pretty intense there for a while."
Don choked out a ragged laugh. "Yup. Best possible outcome, though."
"So, you haven't told us her name yet," April whispered as she played with the baby's hand.
"Hmmm," Don breathed. The last name had been a tough one. There was so much that he wanted to honor - great scientists that had inspired him, Japanese sages, inventors he admired, beloved friends and family members. It was simply too much to choose from.
But when he really considered it, there was one thing that had gotten him through these last few months; One thing that everyone clung to in the darkest of times. "Faith," Donatello sighed.
When things were at their worst, and he couldn't even see the light at the end of the tunnel anymore, he'd had to keep going on Faith alone; Faith that his babies would be okay; Faith that his family would embrace him again; Faith that the Triceraton invasion could be stopped, and that the future of his planet, and his loved ones, was bright.
He knew now that his faith was being rewarded, that all of his sacrifices and all of the suffering had been worth it in the end. Don drifted off to sleep, his children surrounding him and his best friend watching over them all.
Donatello slept for a long time. His body had been within inches of its breaking point. As much as he made it clear that he wanted to be the one to tend to his babies, his family and friends stepped up to protect him from himself. The instant one of the triplets made a sound, it was whisked out of the room before Don's sleep was disrupted.
April came hurrying out of the bedroom with a squeaking Mei in her arms. Mikey was watching over Donatello and Faith in the bedroom, and Raphael was fast asleep in the living room chair. Casey was seated on the sofa feeding Bruno. A big vase of flowers was set out on the coffee table. "Those are for you," Casey whispered.
April set Mei next to Casey, then hurried to the kitchen to make a bottle. "Use the green stuff," Casey hissed. "That's what's working best for Bruno here."
Donatello had created a number of different formulas since he had no idea what the babies' needs would be. The green one was dairy-free and fully plant-based. April poured some into a bottle and sat down with Casey.
"Thanks for the flowers," she whispered between Raphael's snores.
"Hey, you deserve them," Casey announced. "April, what you did in there was totally amazing. You know, even with all the talking and planning you were doing, I kind of thought that it would be as simple as cutting Don open and yanking those kids out of him, but there was so much more to it than that. How'd you know how to cut his plastron without accidentally hitting anything else in there? And how'd you know what parts of his guts to move out of the way and what not to touch? How'd you know that he wouldn't wake up from the sedation? How'd you know how to get the placentas out and when it was safe to remove them and cut the cords?"
April managed to get Mei to accept the bottle. She leaned back against the sofa and yawned. "Are you actually asking me those questions?"
"No, I'm just in awe of you, lady," Casey praised. "I'm so used to thinking that doctors know what they're doing and that this stuff is easy for them. But, you learned all this from scratch, and it's not like there's a mutant turtle anatomy textbook to consult."
April nodded. "Thanks. It was a lot of work. Honestly, I couldn't have done it without Don, even though he was the patient."
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Casey fretted. There had been so much blood, and cutting, and sawing. "I never really thought about what surgery was before. It was like watching someone get injured in battle, but like, in slow motion. I mean, if I saw my friend get sliced open like that in a fight, I would've thought for sure that he was a goner."
"I'm sure Don feels like he's been through a battle," April sympathized. "There's still a risk of infection. We'll have to watch closely for any complications, and he'll be weak and highly medicated for a while. But, I'm pretty optimistic that it will be an uphill climb from here on out."
"I hope so. He's a dad now. Those kids need him." Casey grinned. "I mean, I don't know how to make the green stuff. Do you?"