Part 9-Apologies and Making a Splash

Around 5 hours had passed since the heated quarrel ended, and let's just say that Donnie gave Raph and Casey a scolding that they would never forget; as soon as he left the tent, he walked over to the duo and whacked them hard on their heads with his bo staff before he gave them a tongue-lashing about how they had hurt Mikey's feelings and that they could've made his condition even worse if he and Leo hadn't jumped in to calm Mikey down, causing the duo to look down in shame and regret.

Afterward, Raph and Casey were put on dish cleaning duty for the whole of their second day by Donnie, April, and Leo as punishment for their actions before they moved on to start preparing lunch.

Whilst lunch was being prepared, Donnie went over to his and Mikey's tent and entered inside to see if Mikey was well enough to have lunch with the others. Luckily, Mikey was starting to wake up after the smell of food woke him from his slumber.

"Hey, Mikey…how are you doing?" Donnie asked softly as he knelt to his little brother's level.

"I'm doing ok…" Mikey answered tiredly before he sniffed the air around him. "Mmm, something smells good out there…is it lunchtime yet?"

"Yeah, that's why I came in to see you…and to check if your fever has gone back down..." Donnie said with a little laugh before he got out the thermometer and put it in Mikey's mouth. After a minute, he took it out and looked at it.

"Oh good, it's gone back down…you're free to come and join us for lunch if you want to…!" Donnie said with relief in his voice now that Mikey was back on the road to getting better again.

"Really? Erm…will Raph and Casey…want me there, though…?" Mikey questioned nervously since he was worried that Raph and Casey might still be mad at him.

"Of course they do, bro…besides, they've been punished to do dish-cleaning duties for the whole day today for their actions and behaviour, and they're also preparing a proper apology for you because they never meant to get angry at you in the first place…" Donnie answered as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder.

Mikey breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that, and he also let out a laugh when he heard that Raph and Casey were put on dish-cleaning duty for the whole day since they weren't a fan of that chore before he slowly got out of his sleeping bag and followed Donnie out of their tent.

As they walked towards the campfire and seating area, Leo and April saw them coming over and they smiled warmly to see that Mikey was up and about again before Leo stood up from what he was doing and spoke to him.

"Mikey, you're up! That must mean that your fever has gone back down, right?"

"That's right, Leo. Still, we need to make sure that Mikey doesn't push himself too hard or get too excited when something happens. Otherwise, he will go back to square one again…" Donnie replied seriously but happily.

"Don't worry, Donnie; we'll make sure that doesn't happen. You can count on us…!" April said after she looked up from her task of chopping up vegetables for today's lunch.

"Thanks, guys…" Mikey said gratefully before he turned to look at April. "So, I'm guessing that we're having something with veggies in?"

"Yep; we're having vegetable soup for lunch today, Mikey. With some bread, of course…" April answered before she carried on with her duty of vegetable-chopping.

"I'm fine with that… I hope that I get better soon, though, so that I can get a pizza down me…" Mikey said with a sad smile.

"It shouldn't be too long now, Mikey…As long as you take it easy, you should feel 100% better soon…" Donnie said as he wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulders and gave him a gentle sideways hug.

"I know, Donnie…Thanks…" Mikey said as he looked at Donnie with a warm thankful smile before he and Donnie took their seats to prepare themselves for lunch which was nearly ready once the vegetables were cooked, softened, and mixed with cream to make a soup-like liquid.

Around 5 minutes later, Raph and Casey appeared from their time away from the camp to calm and clear their minds after the events of this morning. When they saw Mikey looking at them with a nervous look on his face, they turned to each other and nodded before Raph slowly walked over to his baby brother, who suddenly looked down to avoid eye contact with him, and knelt down to his level before he spoke in a soft tone.

"Hey, bro…I'm glad dat ya back up and about again...Listen, I'm really sorry fa blowin' up and snappin' at ya at breakfast dis mornin'…it was uncalled for and I made ya sick again, but I promise ya dat it won't happen again, Mikey…can ya ever forgive me?"

Mikey took a moment to let Raph's apology sink into his mind before he slowly looked up and into Raph's eyes. He then developed a small smile and nodded before he suddenly engulfed him in a hug, which a surprised Raph greatly returned and said, "Thanks, lil' bro…", with everyone watching them with heart-warming smiles.

After releasing his red-banded brother from the hug, Mikey watched Casey as he stepped in next and knelt to his level before he spoke in the same way as Raph.

"Heya, Mike…I too wanna apologise fa da way I acted towards ya. I let my hunger and paranoia about getting' sick myself get da better of me and made ya feel worse than ya already are…I hope ya can forgive me as well, man…"

Casey held out a hand and Mikey looked at it and then back at Casey with a surprised look. He then smiled again and accepted his hand before they shook their hands to show that Mikey had forgiven him too, causing Casey and the others to smile in relief and happiness now that both Raph and Casey were forgiven and at peace with Mikey. After a moment of silence, April spoke up.

"Well, now that you guys have made up, let's eat!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered to those words before they all sat down and started eating their lunch in peace after they received a bowl full of vegetable soup and a small bread bun each from April.

/

1 hour later…

After lunch had ended and everyone's stomachs were full, Raph and Casey went on to start their punishment and washed the dishes with a bucket of water that was gathered from the river earlier.

Meanwhile, Leo had decided to play a game of 'Skip the Rocks' at the lake, which was not far from the camp, with Donnie and Mikey, and the game was to see who could skip the rocks across the lake the furthest and whoever reached a total score of 150 points or more would win, with April keeping track of the scores.

"Ok, the scores so far are: Leo is winning with 100 points and Mikey is second with a close score of 90 points, though Donnie is catching up to him with 86 points…" She said as she pointed at her notepad after they stopped for a break.

"Man, I keep forgetting how good you are at this, Leo…" Mikey said before he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"Hey, you're not so bad yourself, Mikey…!" Leo replied with a warm smile before he and Mikey saw Donnie walk over to them with four cups of water.

"Well, all that matters is that we're having a fun time together. Here, I got some water for us all…" Donnie said before he gave Leo, Mikey, April, and himself a cup each.

"Thanks, Donnie…" Mikey said with the others following his lead before he sat down on a rock, took a few sips of his water, and sighed in relief after doing so.

"You ok, Mikey?" Leo asked him in slight concern after finishing his water.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine, Leo…It's just that it's been some time since I did something like this with you guys…especially when I'm still not fully back to my energetic self right now…" Mikey answered quickly with a sad smile.

"I know, Mikey…But today you've managed to play a game with us without feeling tired quickly or collapsing. That's a good sign that shows you're getting better!" Donnie said as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before Mikey hummed with a nod in understanding.

Then, Mikey and the others spotted Raph and Casey approaching them with small smiles on their faces.

"Hey, guys!" Raph said as he waved and got closer to them.

"Watcha up to?" Casey asked curiously.

"Hi, Raph! Hi, Casey! We were playing 'Skip the Rocks', and Leo's winning so far…!" Mikey answered happily.

"Really? So, no one's been cheatin' or anythin', right?" Raph asked teasingly with a smirk.

"Of course not, Raph; April has been our referee and keeping track of our scores throughout the game!" Donnie answered with a mocking glare.

"Heh, heh…I'm kiddin', Brainiac…" Raph then said as he lightly punched Donnie's arm, causing the purple-banded turtle to laugh a little whilst rubbing his arm.

"So, how does dis game go? Do ya mind if ya teach me, Leo? I'd like ta give it a try…" Casey said politely but with a mischievous grin on his face as he and Raph had secretly planned something whilst they were on their way over to the others.

"Sure, Casey…The game is to get a small rock and you hold it at a certain angle in the air and then…" Whilst Leo was explaining the rules of the game with his back turned and his body close to the lake's edge, Raph and Casey looked at each other, both wearing mischievous grins on their faces, and they slowly approached him from behind. Then;

"Whaaaa!" SPLASH!

Leo fell into the lake after Raph and Casey pushed him hard on his back, causing everyone else to gasp in surprise. As soon as Leo rose his head out and above the water, he saw Raph and Casey laughing their heads off and pointing at him before they high-fived each other.

"What the shell was that for!?" He shouted out after he coughed out any water that had gone into his mouth.

"Dat's payback fa cookin' dat awful dinner last night!" Raph answered whilst trying to calm his laughing fit down.

"W-What about Casey!? He helped me in making it!" Leo countered back as he glared at Raph, who stopped laughing straight away after he heard those words.

However, before he could say or do something to respond to that;

"Whoaaaaa!" SPLASH!

He suddenly saw, at the corner of his eye, Casey fall into the water as well before he looked next to him to see Mikey standing in Casey's place whilst he, Donnie, and April were laughing in hysterics, meaning that Mikey was the one who had pushed him in.

"Happy now, Leo?" Mikey asked his blue-banded brother with another laugh as he watched Casey emerge from under the water and glared at him.

"Yes, very! Thanks, little brother!" Leo answered back before he started splashing at Casey, who splashed back with an annoyed look on his face.

Raph looked at his baby brother with a surprised look on his face before he chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to give him a sideways hug as he spoke.

"Great job, bro!" He then gently rubbed Mikey's head with his other hand, causing the orange-banded turtle to giggle.

"Yeah, he really didn't see that coming!" Donnie said as he and April laughed at the scene in the lake.

"It ain't funny!" Casey cried out before he got splashed again by Leo.

"Ya right; it's hilarious! Haha!" Raph said before he joined in the laughter with the others.

After another 10 minutes of having a fun and hilarious time at the lake, Leo and Casey got out of the water and dried themselves off with towels, thanks to April who went back to the camp to get a couple of them to reduce the risk of them getting sick as well.

Then, everyone noticed that Mikey had begun to feel tired as he was trying to stifle a yawn despite his eyes drooping so Donnie decided to put their game at the lake on hold for another time and take him back to their tent for him to have a nap before dinnertime starts, with the others following them not far from behind.