Part 12-Safe

Back at the camp…

April was pacing up and down near the campfire with a worried look on her face because it had been almost an hour since the turtles went into the forest to search for Mikey. Casey looked at his wife whilst he was sitting on his camping chair before he stood up and spoke to her in a reassuring tone.

"Hey, April…Don't worry; I'm sure dat Mikey is ok and da guys will surely have found him by now…"

"Easy for you to say, Casey…! It's my fault that Mikey got hurt and ran off into the forest in the first place!" April said firmly but sadly before her eyes filled with tears of guilt. Seeing this, Casey got closer to his wife and engulfed her into a hug.

"Oh, babe…it's not your fault at all…it was dat stupid gang dat tried ta harm us and then hurt Mikey in da process…so, calm down, ok? Mikey and da others wouldn't want ta see ya all upset, ya know…!" He said soothingly as April sobbed in his hold.

Then, Casey saw a group of silhouettes appearing from the darkness of the forest and he soon recognised them as the turtles, with Mikey alive and asleep in Raph's arms!

"April, look! They're back!" He alerted April who was sniffling and wiping away her tears before she looked behind her and saw for herself with wide eyes that the turtle brothers had returned.

"Guys!" April said in slight concern as she ran towards them. When she reached them, April saw for herself that Mikey was alive and asleep in Raph's arms.

"Mikey…" She whispered softly as she gently placed a hand on Mikey's head.

"It's ok, April, Mikey's going to be fine. I've removed the bullet from his leg and patched it up, but it will need stitches in order for it to heal properly…" Donnie said softly and in his 'Doctor Don' voice whilst placing a comforting hand on April's shoulder.

"Ok…I'll help you out in any way I can…I owe him for saving my life, after all…!" April said with determination after she nodded in understanding to Donnie's explanation.

"Thanks, April…Let's get him inside the tent and get everything ready for his treatment…" Donnie said gratefully before he guided Raph towards his and Mikey's tent with April following them. Leo then walked over and asked him an important question.

"Did the police come and take those gang members away? I didn't see them with you when we got here…"

"Yeah, they just left with them about 20 minutes ago…" Casey answered with a smirk.

"Good…That's good…" Leo said as he sighed in relief after hearing that the H.A.T.E gang would no longer bother them throughout the rest of their camping trip. He was then handed a warm drink, which was hot chocolate, by Casey as a way to ease his stress.

"Here, man…April made enough in da pot fa all of us…"

"Thank you, Casey…Smells great…" Leo said gratefully as he accepted the hot beverage before he sat down by the campfire with Casey to give Donnie, Raph, and April some space to take care of Mikey.

/

In Mikey and Donnie's tent…

Raph gently laid Mikey down onto his sleeping bag and Donnie placed a pillow under Mikey's wounded leg to elevate it and relieve the pain. Donnie then opened the first aid kit and got out a needle and some medical thread before he handed April a fresh roll of bandages and some gauze pads as he spoke.

"Alright, April, I need you to supply me with fresh gauze whenever I need to stem the bleeding as I stitch up Mikey's wound. Once I'm done, pass me the roll of fresh bandages so that I can cover up the stitches…"

April nodded in understanding before Donnie turned to Raph and continued speaking.

"Raph, I need you to hold Mikey still whilst I work since he might try to move away due to the pain..."

Raph nodded before he placed one hand on Mikey's plastron and another hand on his leg to keep him still.

With everything ready and in place, Donnie looked back at the bullet wound on Mikey's leg and began to make the first insert with the needle and thread. Since there was nothing that could be used to help numb the feeling of the needle penetrating the skin, Mikey felt it pinch his leg sharply and flinched with a groan whilst still asleep.

"Shhh…Relax, bro, it's ok…" Raph said softly as he stroked his baby brother's chest with his thumb to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, Mikey…It'll all be over soon…" Donnie soothed his baby brother softly as he signalled April to pass him a fresh gauze to clean away some of the blood from the half-closed wound before he continued on with the procedure.

After another two minutes went by, Donnie was finally finished with stitching up Mikey's wound and he signalled April to pass him the roll of fresh bandages so that he could wrap up Mikey's leg to protect the stitches. Once he was done, Donnie wiped the sweat off of his forehead and looked up at Raph before he spoke.

"How's Mikey doing, Raph?"

"I think he's fine, annoyed from da pain disturbin' him but he's back ta sleep again…He's still a lil' warm, though…" Raph answered calmly but in concern after he lifted his hands from Mikey's chest and legs to place one of them on his forehead and check his temperature.

"Yeah, I know…I thought that this might be the case…We can only give him medication to help with the pain whilst he sleeps since mixing two different medicines together is very dangerous and could make things worse for him…we'll just have to reduce his fever by using a damp cloth for now…" Donnie explained with a sigh before he reached into the first aid kit and got out two painkiller tablets and then gently shook Mikey to wake him up and get him to take his medicine.

"Mikey…Wake up, bro…" He said softly.

"Mmmm…Ngh…" Mikey groaned as he began to wake up and open his eyes to see two of his older brothers and April looking down at him with tired but relieved looks on their faces. "G-Guys…?"

"Oh, Mikey…I'm so glad you're alright…" April spoke as she placed a gentle hand on Mikey's chest and her eyes began to fill with tears of joy when she saw his eyes finally open.

"Hey, April…you ok?" Mikey rasped with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine…thanks to you…I should be the one asking you that because you took the hit for me…" April said tearfully with a light chuckle as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Here, Mikey, take these; they should help with the pain whilst you sleep…" Donnie then said before he lifted Mikey's head with one hand whilst holding the tablets in his other hand. Mikey opened his mouth to allow Donnie to put the tablets into his mouth and he was then given a drink of water from his water bottle, which Raph picked up and gave him to help him swallow them down.

Donnie laid Mikey's head back down onto his pillow and tucked him in with his leg still elevated to help him feel more comfortable, and April gently placed a cool damp cloth on Mikey's forehead to help reduce his fever. Now that he felt safe and settled in his tent with everyone around him, Mikey let out a yawn as he began to fall asleep with his eyes slowly drooping.

"Sleep now, little brother…You've been through a lot today…" Donnie said with a warm smile as he lightly patted the top of Mikey's head.

"G'night, bro…see ya in da mornin'…" Raph said next as he gave Mikey's shoulder a squeeze.

"Goodnight, Mikey…Thanks again for saving me…" April said softly before she gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to smile faintly before he fell asleep seconds later.

Donnie, Raph, and April looked on at the sleeping turtle with warm smiles on their faces for a moment before they decided to leave the tent to let him sleep in peace and let Leo and Casey know about his condition.

/

At the campfire…

Leo was sitting on one of the camping chairs and tapping his now empty cup with one of his fingers in an anxious manner, whilst Casey was keeping the campfire going by throwing pieces of paper into it and poking it with a stick as anxiety and impatience began to build up in both of their bodies, because it had been some time since Mikey was taken to his and Donnie's tent for treatment.

Then, Leo spotted Donnie, Raph, and April walking towards him and Casey and he got up just as they arrived at the campfire before he spoke.

"Hey, guys…is Mikey ok?"

"He's fine now, Leo. I've stitched up his wound and gave him some painkillers to help with the pain whilst he sleeps tonight. He still has a fever but April has placed a damp cloth on his head to help reduce it during the night…" Donnie answered in his 'Doctor Don' voice whilst wearing a tired smile before he heard Leo and Casey both let out a sigh of relief and speak.

"Thank goodness…"

"Well, we can all sleep easy now dat Mikey is ok…!"

"Yeah…speaking of sleep, I think I might turn in myself…Oh, yeah! There's some hot chocolate for you all in that pot next to the fire if you want some… Goodnight…" April said with a yawn before she walked towards her own tent to head for bed.

"Thanks, April…and goodnight…" Donnie replied before he and Raph went over to the pot and poured some hot chocolate into a cup each, and then they joined Leo and Casey at the campfire. After a moment of silence, Casey spoke up.

"Man…what a day dis has been…"

"Yeah, Mike's been through a rough day, dat's fa sure…" Raph said with a nod in agreement before he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"You're right, Raph…first, the quarrel at breakfast, then his fever going back up and now the H.A.T.E gang appearing and hurting him…I guess today was not a good day for him or any of us…" Donnie said with a sad and tired sigh before he took another sip of his hot chocolate.

"Don't worry, Donnie, I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day for all of us, especially Mikey who definitely deserves a special day after saving April earlier…" Leo said with a warm smile.

"Totally agree with ya on dat, Fearless…!" Raph said with a smirk as he raised his cup in mid-air.

"Me too!" Donnie said as he raised his cup in mid-air as well.

"Here, here!" Casey cheered quietly as he too raised his cup in mid-air.

"Then, it's settled; let's make sure that tomorrow is a good day for Mikey and for all of us, too!" Leo said with determination as he raised his cup in mid-air with the others.

"Yeah!" The others cheered quietly to avoid waking Mikey and April up before they all finished what was left in their cups and decided to turn in since the second day at camp was an eventful one for everyone, including Mikey, and as they slept they all hoped deep down that the next day would be a much better one.