Donnie was running on fumes, and he knew it. Mikey seemed to be fine after a long sleep, but unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Leo. Over half the day had passed in a tense rotation of round-the-clock care; monitoring his injuries, changing his bandages, and attempting various remedies to bring his temperature down. The others did all they could to help, but Donnie took on most of the work and hadn't left the room since early morning. He kept on his hardened doctor approach and pretended he was confident that things would turn around soon, but the truth was, he was just as terrified as he was determined. He had just gotten Leo back… he was not going to lose him again.

But despite his and everyone else's efforts, the blue-banded turtle's condition showed little to no signs of improvement. He remained unresponsive, and his fever was holding steady but still high. The threat of dehydration was much smaller with the IV, but the fluids wouldn't hold out forever. With all the temporary first aid stations set up on the surface, getting more might not be as hard as it could be, but it wasn't guaranteed by any means. The best thing would be if he woke up so he could drink liquids rather than receive them intravenously, but of course he couldn't make it that easy. Donnie let out a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes as he looked down at his ailing twin.

"You really are an idiot, you know that?" he muttered. "I know you've got a hero complex this big, but there's better times to have a personal revelation and go all noble than when your life is on the line. I mean, do you have any idea what that self-sacrificing stunt of yours did to us? Or what things are like right now? We're barely keeping Mikey from risking himself to try and heal you, Raph's walking around like a zombie, I've never seen Dad so strung out, and me… I feel like I'm failing. Failing them, failing you…"

Suddenly his throat closed up, and he was forced to suck in a sharp breath as he clutched the edge of the bed.

No, not now, don't fall apart now. You don't. You can't. Your family needs you to keep it together… Leo needs you to keep it together.

"Donnie?"

The sound of his name brought the genius turtle screeching back to reality. Thanking whoever was up there that he wasn't facing the doorway, he drew in another sharp breath and straightened, recovering his mask. Turning, he saw his red-banded brother standing there with a bowl of water and towel, a concerned look on his face.

"You okay?" he asked. Donnie couldn't hold back a bitter laugh.

"Are any of us okay right now?"

Raph let out a sigh as he walked across the room.

"Guess not." He frowned as he looked Donnie up and down. "You look like ya need a break. We saved you some food, so…"

"I'm fine," Donnie said right away. "I've got stuff to do first… I need to replace the IV bag soon, and Leo's bandages need to be changed, and…"

"Don."

Oh, great… he's pulling out his Big Brother voice.

"You've been sayin' that all day," Raph said in that firm voice. "You barely ate anything this morning and ya haven't left this room in almost eight hours. You're not gonna be much help to Leo if ya pass out… didn't you say so yourself?"

Donnie let out a soft growl.

"That's a cheap shot, Raph."

"Just callin' it like it is." The older turtle's voice grew gentle. "Look, Dad's comin' in too, and we both know what to do. Let us take over for a while. Any change of any kind, you'll be th' first to know, I promise."

Donnie pressed his lips together. As much as he hated to admit it, Raph was right. But his eyes moved to the bed where Leo was laying… helpless, suffering, just like when he was trapped in that prison dimension, where none of them could help. The words came spilling out before he could stop them, his voice breaking in a way he had never let it before.

"But what if… what if I'm gone and he… what if he dies while I'm… what if… what if he dies?"

There was a moment of silence, then he felt a large hand on his shoulder.

"You can't let yourself think like that, brother. I know you're scared… we're all scared. But what we've gotta think about now is the best way to help Leo. If you don't wanna take care of yourself for you, do it for him. I know you guys go at it all the time, but do ya really think he wants you doin' this to yourself?"

Donnie gazed down at his twin, running Raph's words through his head, then finally his shoulders slumped as he released a sound that was half sigh and half sob.

"No," he whispered.

He felt Raph pat his shoulder, and even though he was looking at the floor now, he could picture the sad smile on his face.

"Hey, c'mon. If he wakes up seein' you a mess like this, you know he'll never let ya hear the end of it."

That finally got a laugh out of Donnie; a short, choked one but genuine.

"Yeah…"

He then felt another familiar, smaller hand take his.

"Your brother had faith in all of you," Splinter said, his voice gentle. "We need to have faith in him now."

Donnie drew in a deep breath and squeezed his father's hand, nodding. Lifting his gaze again, he stepped up to the bed and hesitantly placed a hand on Leo's.

"Hear that, 'Nardo? I'm counting on you not going anywhere while I'm gone."

Leo stirred a little and let out a soft cough but didn't wake up. With a quiet sigh, Donnie reluctantly turned and slowly walked past his father and older brother. He paused at the doorway to take one more glance at Leo, then headed for the kitchen. But as he was passing through the living room, a quiet sound reached his ears. He paused for a moment, unsure of what it was, then realized it was quiet sniffling. Following the sound, he found it was coming from inside a familiar turtle shell on the couch.

Donnie shifted on his feet, unsure of what to do. Normally he would go get someone better qualified for personal talks than him, but something held him back this time. He understood what Mikey was feeling better than anyone, and he had a hunch that was what he really needed right now. Finally making up his mind, he sighed and went to sit beside Mikey's shell. He sat in silence for a moment, listening to Mikey's quiet sniffles and trying to think of what to say, then knocked softly on the shell a few times.

"Mikey?"

The sniffling immediately stopped, and he heard the box turtle take a deep breath before a quavering voice came from inside the shell.

"Yeah, D?"

The softshell couldn't help but smile a little; even though there was no hiding it, Mikey still had the irrepressible instinct to try and make things easier for everyone else. He thought for a moment, trying to think of what Raph might say.

"You don't have to hide if you're upset," he finally said. "I really doubt anyone here would judge you for it when we're all in the same situation."

There was silence for a few moments, then Mikey's small voice came again.

"I know, I just…" There was another moment of hesitation, then he went on. "I felt scared."

Donnie felt a twinge of sadness at those words; often when they were tots, Mikey would retreat into his shell when he was scared. He didn't do it as often now that they were older, but when he was feeling particularly afraid or vulnerable, he would still revert to that old method of comfort.

"I think we're all scared right now," Donnie said, his voice quiet. He heard Mikey sniff again inside his shell, and for a while the two simply sat in silence.

"Donnie?" Mikey finally asked.

The genius looked at the shell containing his little brother. He wished he would come out so he could really talk to him but had a feeling Mikey wouldn't be too partial toward that.

"Yeah?"

"Is… is Leo gonna be okay?"

Donnie shifted, unsure what to say. He knew Mikey couldn't help asking, but he had no idea how to answer that question in a way that made the youngest turtle feel better without resorting to lying. But before he could think of something, the sniffling started again.

Shell…

It was at times like this that Donnie really regretted his lack of skill with emotional connection. Raph and Leo were better at this than him. Reaching out, he gave the shell a few awkward pats.

"I don't really know, Mikey… but what I do know is that smart aleck is tough and stubborn as shell. He won't give up on anything without a fight."

A choked little laugh came from inside the shell, making Donnie smile too.

"And if it gets really bad…" Mikey murmured. "Would you let me…?"

Donnie's smile grew a little more solemn.

"Maybe some," he said. "But remember what Casey said about pushing too much. I know you wanna help Leo, but I know he wouldn't want you putting yourself at risk to do it."

For a while Mikey didn't say anything, then Donnie heard him sigh again.

"Yeah, I know."

"But you said you wouldn't give up on him," Donnie went on. "And I'm not going to either… none of us are. I can promise you that much."

Another quiet laugh came from inside Mikey's shell.

"You sound weird doing this."

Donnie couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.

"Guess so. Heart to hearts isn't usually my thing… but never too late to learn, I guess."