Part 8-Quarrel at Camp

Leo and Donnie exited the forest altogether and were walking towards the camp when they noticed that Raph and Casey were now awake and standing near Mikey and April, who were sitting around the cooker and having drinks after they finished their breakfasts.

However, when they got closer, the two brothers saw that Raph and Casey were quarrelling with each other over something so they listened in to find out what all the fuss was about.

"Do ya really think dat I would trust you ta cook our breakfast after what happened yesterday at dinner!?" Raph shouted as he got closer to Casey's face.

"I already told ya dat dinner last night was an accident, Raph! Besides, Leo also messed it up too, ya know…!" Casey countered back firmly.

"Well, ya shouldn't have tag-teamed with him since both of ya are bad at cookin'!" Raph then said in annoyance.

"Oh, and you're any better than us!?" Casey said as he pointed his finger at Raph in frustration.

"At least I don't try ta kill my bros when I try ta cook!" Raph answered back as he slapped Casey's hand away from him.

April and Mikey have been watching the two arguing since Casey suggested that he would cook his and Raph's breakfasts and they looked from Raph to Casey and vice versa as if they were watching a tennis match whilst they shouted at one another.

Soon, Mikey sighed as he was starting to get tired of watching and listening to the argument, especially since he was still feeling under the weather, before he spoke up in a firm but caring tone.

"Guys, stop! Look, I'd be happy to cook you guys breakfast, so will you please just-"

"Shut up!" Raph and Casey yelled out in unison to cut Mikey off, causing him to flinch and back away slightly before Raph spoke again.

"There is no way I'm lettin' ya cook in da condition yer in and I definitely don't want yer germs in my food dat will make me sick too, so stay outta dis, Mikey!"

"Yeah, da last thing we want is fa all of us ta get sick and have our trip ruined cos of you, so back off!" Casey said firmly to back up Raph's words.

This caused Mikey to gasp and look at Raph and Casey with wide and tear-filled eyes before he looked down as he began to sob. April saw this and got closer to Mikey to give him a sideways hug and whispered comforting words to him to try and calm him down, especially since his condition might worsen if he cried for too long.

Seeing this and with rage slowly boiling in his blood, Donnie dropped his set of logs and walked towards the two hotheads with an angry look on his face.

"What the shell is wrong with you two!? How dare you yell at Mikey when he's still too ill to defend himself!" He shouted as soon as he was close enough to Raph and Casey.

"Yeah, Mikey only wanted to help you with breakfast despite his illness and you just scolded him for it! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" April said firmly to back up Donnie's words whilst she rubbed Mikey's back to soothe him since he was still crying.

Raph and Casey took a moment to calm themselves down before they looked from Donnie to Mikey in April's arms before reality sunk in and their angry faces softened when they realised what they had just done to the youngest turtle.

"Oh, shell…" "Oh, man…" They said as they looked down in shame and guilt before they saw Leo walk over to Mikey after putting his logs down and gently took him into his own arms from April after thanking her for doing her bit to try and calm his baby brother down.

"Shhh…Shhh…it's alright, Mikey…calm down…you did nothing wrong, ok?" He said soothingly to his brother as he rocked him gently before he heard Mikey say something in a quiet tone.

"I-I'm sorry…I-I failed to…k-keep them from f-fighting…sniff…I-I was only…t-trying to…help e-everyone…"

"Hey…you haven't failed, Mikey…It was very kind of you to volunteer in making breakfast for us, but you're still recovering from your illness and the last thing we want is for you to collapse on us again…" Leo said softly as he rubbed Mikey's shell-covered back to comfort him.

"Leo's right, little brother; we don't want you to have a relapse in your illness and pass out on us like you did when we first found out you were sick…" Donnie said in defense of Leo's words as he knelt down to Mikey's level and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Oh, geez…I think your fever has risen slightly…let's get you to bed, bro…" He then said with a frustrated sigh before he helped a sniffling Mikey stand up and guide him to their tent to rest. Before he left, however, Donnie turned to Raph and Casey with a stern look and spoke in a firm tone.

"You two and I are going to have a little talk when I'm done tending to Mikey, and you better have a proper apology ready for him by the time he is up and about again…!" He then turned and took his baby brother towards their tent and helped him inside.

"Nice going, you two; Mikey's fever has gone back up again because of your angry outbursts, especially when the whole fuss was about something less important like getting your breakfasts made!" Leo said firmly to the two hotheads who still had shameful and guilt-filled looks on their faces.

"Alright, Alright! We get it, bro…We didn't mean ta hurt him like dat…!" Raph said as he placed a hand on his forehead and sighed in frustration for what he did to his sick baby brother.

"Yeah, did ya see da way he looked at us before he cried? He was scared of us, man…!" Casey said with guilt and regret in his voice.

"Well, that's what happens when you guys let your anger and hunger get the better of you…" Leo said as he shook his head in disappointment.

"Look, I will make your breakfasts whilst you guys take a moment to calm down and come up with a proper apology for Mikey…alright?" April said with a sigh before she went to work with cooking the boys' breakfasts.

Leo watched as Raph and Casey looked at each other and apologised to each other before they shook hands and walked over to where the river was to cool off and think about how they should apologise to Mikey once he was back on his feet again. He then began to walk towards Donnie and Mikey's tent to see how his baby brother was doing.

/

Meanwhile, in Donnie and Mikey's tent…

"I-I'm sorry, Don…I-I've made everything worse…!" Mikey said tearfully after he sat down on his sleeping bag.

"No, Mikey, none of this was your fault, ok? You didn't expect Raph and Casey to blow up in your face like that…You were just trying to help them and that's a part of who you are…" Donnie said firmly but softly to his baby brother before he spoke again to tell him about what he and Leo saw in the forest.

"Listen, Mikey; Leo and I saw that anti-alien group we encountered a few years ago, and it seems that they're back together but without their leader."

"R-Really!? Are you serious!?" Mikey said with a gasp after hearing that before he saw Donnie nod at him as he spoke again.

"Yeah, so we will have to stay out of the forest until we know that it is safe for us to go back in. Do you understand, Mikey?" Donnie watched as Mikey nodded to say that he understood before he smiled warmly when he saw his baby brother stifle a yawn.

With this in mind, Donnie laid a tired and warm Mikey down on his sleeping bag and tucked him in before he reached into his bag and took out his thermometer before he placed it in Mikey's mouth to take his temperature after finding out that his fever had spiked slightly. After a minute of waiting, Donnie took the thermometer out of Mikey's mouth and looked at the results.

"Hmmm…I was right, Mikey; your fever has gone back up, but only by a couple of degrees…" He said with a sigh before he noticed that Mikey was struggling to stay awake whilst still trying but failing to stop crying, so he gently rubbed Mikey's head to help soothe him to sleep before he spoke again but in a softer tone.

"It's ok, Mikey…Don't worry; everything will be alright by the time you wake up again…sleep now, little brother…"

Mikey looked at his immediate older brother, who was looking at him with a warm smile on his face, before he nodded slightly, slowly closed his eyes, and fell asleep instantly.

Then, a tapping sound was heard coming from the tent's doorway behind Donnie before the door opened to reveal Leo who wanted to check on his little brothers, especially Mikey.

"How is he, Donnie?" Leo asked quietly with a hint of concern in his voice.

"A bit warmer than before, but only slightly…After some rest, he should be alright…" Donnie answered calmly.

"That's good to hear…did you tell him about the return of that anti-alien group in the forest?" Leo then asked with a slightly more serious tone in his voice.

"Yeah; he was shocked about it but he understood that we need to stay away from the forest until further notice…" Donnie replied with a disappointed sigh because he wanted to bring Mikey with him for when they go back into the forest for a nice walk.

"Don't worry, Don; we won't let those goons ruin our time here…but for now, let's focus on making sure Mikey gets better before we go home. We don't want him to miss out on a lot of the things that we're planning to do here…" Leo said as he placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"You're right, Leo. Besides, you did say that we would play a game with him later on…" Donnie said with a warm smile before his face turned slightly serious. "Well, now that Mikey is sleeping peacefully, I'm going to go and have a little chat with Raph and Casey…"

"Alright, Don…just don't lose your cool, ok? And try and keep your voice down; we don't want to wake Mikey up and worry him even more…" Leo advised his purple-banded brother firmly but softly before he watched Donnie nod and say, "I know", and then leave the tent.

Leo followed him out from behind before closing the tent door to let Mikey sleep in peace.