Part 3-Preparing for the Camping Trip

After leaving Mikey and April to talk in peace, Donnie reached the kitchen to find Leo and Casey sitting at the dining table discussing and writing down something, to which Donnie believed to be a list of things needed for the camping trip, before he got to the sink and began preparing Mikey's drink of water.

"What should we put in our curry again?" He heard Leo say to Casey.

"Err…carrots, potatoes, onions, chicken, or peppers…?" Casey answered with an unsure look on his face.

"Curry is ok with you, right, Donnie?" Leo asked his purple-banded brother as soon as he noticed him at the corner of his eye.

"Y-Yeah, of course. What made you choose that?" Donnie replied curiously whilst he looked for a suitable cup in the cupboard.

"Well, we were going back and forth between ramen and curry, but I feel that ramen won't be enough to fill us up on our first night of camping. We're also thinking about providing Mikey with tinned soups and fresh fruit since he still can't eat anything heavy due to his condition..." Leo answered as he checked through his list of items in front of him.

"Ok…Where's Raph, by the way?" Donnie questioned when he realised that Raph wasn't with them.

"He's in the garage, checking if our camping gear is still in good condition since our last trip..." Leo answered before he turned his attention back to Casey and continued with their discussion on food.

"Hmm…I wonder what kind of ingredients Raph likes in curry. I've got the feeling that he might be really picky…"

"Well, he's still in da garage…Want me ta go ask him fa ya?" Casey said.

"No, it's fine. Besides, Raph doesn't like to be disturbed when he's busy…" Leo answered as he shook his head.

Casey nodded and studied the food list for a moment before he thought of something and spoke to Leo. "Hmmm…Hey, Leo, ya put potato starch in curry, right…?"

Leo paused and began to think whilst Donnie also stopped at what he was doing, which was filling a hard plastic cup with water, as he listened carefully and nervously to the conversation, before he heard Leo speak again but in an unsure tone.

"O-Of course you do…"

"Otherwise, we can't make da sauce thicken up, so we're gonna need some potato starch, and some flour too..." Casey explained.

"There are different types of flour, though. Which one shall we get? I've heard that whole-wheat flour is healthier than white all-purpose flour…" Leo said in his opinion.

"Then get whole-wheat flour if it makes ya feel more comfortable. Also…we're gonna need some chilli peppers, cos it ain't curry if it's not spicy…!" Casey replied confidently.

"Alright, then…let's just get the things that seem right. How about some kimchi, too, and maybe some ground pepper?" Leo said as he wrote down the chilli peppers on the notepad.

"I've heard dat there are two types of pepper, though: black and white…" Casey said with a finger under his chin.

"Well, I think we should get both, just in case one or the other doesn't taste great…" Leo decided.

Donnie's eyes widened with worry when he heard the variety of ingredients that were going to be included in the curry, but as he slowly started to walk away from the kitchen with a now full cup of water with a straw in it for Mikey, he overheard Leo and Casey continue their discussion again, meaning that they weren't done yet.

"I also think dat we should add a special ingredient or two ta spice things up!" Casey said.

Leo put a finger under his chin as he thought out loud about the possible special ingredients that they might use.

"Hmmm, I remember seeing something about that on a cooking show that Mikey and I watched one time. I think it was…chocolate…coffee…yoghurt…?"

"Yeah, chocolate! Let's use dat, but with nuts in it cos I love dat stuff and Raph likes chocolate, too!" Casey said excitedly with a gasp.

"Ok, then…I don't drink coffee as much as you, April, Raph, and Donnie do so I'll use some green tea instead. We should also get some seafood since it might help make the sauce taste better…" Leo said as he jotted down more ingredients on the list.

Donnie gasped quietly with widened eyes and his head began to drip with sweat due to feeling worried after he heard the rest of Leo and Casey's discussion, to a point where he nearly dropped Mikey's cup of water when he stopped for a second to regain his senses. However, Leo noticed this and spoke to Donnie from his seat to get his attention.

"Hey, Donnie, you ok over there?"

"O-Oh, yeah…I just tripped a bit and nearly dropped Mikey's drink in the process. Nothing to worry about…!" Donnie replied with a sheepish smile on his face due to feeling a bit embarrassed for not telling him the real reason for his little slip-up.

Leo just nodded in understanding with a smile on his face before he turned back around to continue their discussion on what else they might need for the trip. After letting out a sigh of relief, Donnie continued his walk towards Mikey's bedroom.

Once he entered the room, Donnie saw that Mikey was starting to fall asleep whilst April was writing something down on a notepad, which belonged to Mikey, before he firmly but softly knocked on the open door to get their attention.

"Hey, you two…I hope I haven't interrupted you…" He said softly as he got closer to the bed.

"Not at all, Donnie…we just finished talking…" April replied as she looked up at him with a warm smile after she finished writing something down onto Mikey's notepad.

"What have you been writing, April?" Donnie asked curiously.

"It's a surprise that Mikey is planning, so I can't tell you, Donnie…Sorry…" April answered with an amused smile as she closed the notepad to prevent Donnie from looking at her notes.

Donnie just chuckled and nodded in understanding before he sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his now sleepy baby brother.

"Here you go, Mikey…" He said as he slowly placed the straw near Mikey's mouth, which opened slightly and accepted the straw before Mikey began to take a few slow but large sips of the water from the cup. A moment later, Mikey released the straw and Donnie placed the half-full cup onto Mikey's bedside table before he tucked his baby brother in with his blanket.

"Rest well, little brother…I'll come back to check on you again later, ok?" He said soothingly before he heard Mikey hum in response as he rubbed Mikey's head gently to lull him to sleep, causing him to fall asleep seconds later.

"Come on, let's go and check on the others…" Donnie then whispered to April before they both left Mikey's room and gently closed the door to let Mikey sleep in peace once again, and then they made their way towards the kitchen area to go and check on the others' progress.