*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones. The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission. Thanks!
Chapter 11Athena:
Within an hour of the call, we were all on one of the mini-jets, headed to New York. Iris called Rhea and cleared it with her; she insisted that Panaceia and I travel with them, as the boys weren't even close to being rehabilitated. Panaceia and I helped Leonardo on board, but the others managed themselves just fine. It turned out to be a really good thing that Psyche had bought them those clothes; they'd all found something suitable that fit them. Luckily, Psyche and Nemesis had great taste when it came to men's clothing. They looked different with their new clothes on. If it were another time and place, I would have told them how nice they looked. Now was definitely not the time though and no one was saying much of anything, understandably. I didn't exactly know what to expect in New York, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that it wasn't good.
Leonardo:
I felt sick, but I wasn't about to let anyone in on that little secret. I had to be the strong one, even if I was the weakest right now. None of us had spoken; I didn't know about anyone else, but I really had nothing to say. April said Splinter was sick, and the panic in her voice told me that it wasn't just a cold or the flu. Splinter almost never got sick, not that I could remember anyway. Even if he got injured, he was a fast healer.
I had a knot in my stomach that just wouldn't quit. I just kept trying to meditate, repeating to myself that he would be okay, that everything would be all right.
Michaelangelo:
Nobody spoke during the ride. It was driving me crazy. I picked at the side pocket on my cargo pants, not knowing what to do with myself. With everything we'd already been through in the last 48 hours, I couldn't believe that we were on a jet to New York because Splinter was sick. I couldn't remember him ever being sick when we were growing up, and I had no idea what to expect. I wanted Athena or Panaceia to lean over and say that everything would be fine, just like they kept telling us back at their house. If they could heal us after what we'd been through, they would definitely be able to help Splinter. I was glad they were with us.
Raphael:
Splinter was sick. April didn't give any of the details, but there was no way that it was good. I found myself asking questions like, what would we do without him? I tried to keep my mind away from that. I looked around at my brothers, and they looked like I was feeling. Michaelangelo looked like he was going to cry at any second, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did, Donatello was lost in space, it was hard to ever tell what he was thinking anyway, and Leonardo looked like he was going to be sick any minute now. For once, I knew exactly how he felt.
Donatello:
By the time that Nemesis came over the com system and told us we were landing, I realized that I'd spent the entire flight thinking about Splinter and all the time I'd spent alone with him. He understood me in a way that none of my brothers did. He had always been there for us, no matter what. Now we were going to have to be there for him, and I wasn't sure that we were prepared, mentally or physically, to do that. One thing was for sure, I was really glad I wasn't going to be the only person with some medical expertise.
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April:
I held his hand while he slept. That was about all he did now. I knew he could sense my fear and worry, and I hated myself for not being able to control my emotions better. The guys would be here soon, they promised. I couldn't wait for some help. Splinter wouldn't let us move him up to our apartment so Casey and I traded off shifts, never leaving him alone. He didn't say anything, but I think he appreciated it.
I still couldn't stop feeling partially to blame for his being sick. I should have kept a closer eye on him while they were gone; I knew it was killing him not knowing where they were. I should have made sure he was eating and taking care of himself. I guess I just got too used to him always being the caretaker. I never thought he wouldn't take care of himself.
"Hey, April."
Michaelangelo's voice from the doorway nearly caused me to jump out of my skin. I turned to look, and saw him standing there with his brothers, varying expressions of concern on their faces. Two females were holding up Leonardo, who wasn't looking very well. I assumed they were the girls that the guys had talked about. As upset as I was about Splinter, I didn't have to work hard to get a big smile on my face. It was so good to have them here, and know they were okay. I was across the room in a heartbeat, and gave Michaelangelo a big hug.
"Hey, yourself!"
He smiled and it was right then that I realized what didn't look right about them. I moved one of my hands across his back again.
"Your…?"
"Yeah, I know, we didn't want to tell you guys over the phone."
"But you said you were fine!"
"We are…mostly. We knew you'd worry if we told you so we figured we'd wait until you could see for yourself that it didn't kill us."
"I don't understand how."
"Well neither do any of us, really. It's okay though. We're managing."
The others had gravitated over to Splinter while Michaelangelo and I were talking, and Michaelangelo just gave me a weak smile and squeezed my hand before joining them.
I turned back around to face them, letting their new forms sink in. They looked smaller, and yet…taller or something. I wasn't sure. I shook my head. There were more important things to think about right now.
"How long has he been this way?"
The lighter-haired one didn't look up, but I knew she was directing the question at me.
"About two days now, I guess. I came down here to check on him the other day right before we got the phone calls from you guys, and he mentioned that he wasn't feeling well. I guess I just thought he was making himself sick with worry. As soon as I got your message, I came down here again. He said he'd talked to you and we talked for a little while, but he said he was tired and went to bed. I didn't think he was acting right, so I came to check on him the next morning before work. He didn't get out of bed and I knew something was really wrong."
"Has he been conscious at all?"
"Sometimes. It's barely enough to get him to eat or drink though."
The dark-haired one looked up at me just then. "I'm sorry, we're being rude. I'm Athena, and this is my sister, Panaceia."
"Nice to meet you."
"You also."
Panaceia:
Their fear and concern all around me was making it hard to concentrate, but I wasn't about to tell them to leave when we just got here.
"Athena, would you go help Neme bring the rest of the supplies down? I need the rest of my things to do this right."
"Sure, I'll be right back. April, would you mind giving me a hand? You can meet another one of our sisters too."
Athena must be reading my mind again. As soon as they were out of the room, I turned to the boys.
"I need to run some tests to be sure, but I'm going to be honest with you right now that this does not look good. That doesn't mean he won't get better; he's just very sick right now. He's almost completely unresponsive. As soon as I know exactly what's wrong I can start treating him. Remember that we hold the most advanced medical technology on the planet. He's in the very best hands possible."
They didn't say anything, but they looked a little reassured. I knew they felt helpless, but there wasn't much I could do about that.
"I need you all to listen very closely to me. I know that you're concerned and I know you've all forgotten about yourselves and your own state ever since you heard your sensei was ill. However, I cannot have you neglecting your own health. You are by no means well again…especially you, Leonardo. It is very important that you follow Athena's or my instructions. We're going to have to care for all of you at the same time. There are only two of us and five of you; it'll make it much easier to do our jobs if you just don't argue about your own treatment."
"Don't worry, we'll take our shots like good boys." Michaelangelo tried to reassure me.
"If that was all it was, I wouldn't be giving you this lecture, Michaelangelo. It's really important right now that we re-train your bodies to accept the change that's happened. I know you're going to want to stay by his side constantly, but we're going to need you to get up and move a lot."
"You mean, like physical therapy?"
"Well, yeah. We have to be sure that everything has re-connected in the right way."
Leonardo gave me a serious look. "We'll be the best patients we can, but understand that as long as he's sick, our own health is our second priority."
"Fine."
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April:
As we all sat around in the kitchen, I had no idea how she was getting them to eat. Panaceia had insisted that we all leave her alone with Splinter for a while so that she could work, and Athena had herded the guys out of the room and was now feeding them. I knew them well enough to know that eating was about the last thing on their minds right now, but she obviously wasn't taking no for an answer.
I was glad that their sister Nemesis had left. Not that she didn't seem nice, but there was something about her that made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. When she looked at me, I had a hard time breathing. I wondered if she had that effect on everyone.
I didn't know much about these sisters, but I knew they had saved the guys, and I guess that was all I needed to know, really. They looked normal enough, if normal was appearing like they had just walked off the pages of Cosmo. I was sure that it was just the overwhelming nature of their situation, but the boys seemed completely oblivious to the attractiveness of their rescuers, which was not like them at all.
I watched the four of them eating in silence. It was strange to see them fully dressed in clothing that actually fit them. On the rare occasions when they did wear clothing, it was always large and baggy to fit over their shells. They looked nice; almost normal, I thought and then immediately chided myself for thinking that.
I looked at the clock on the wall; Casey would be here soon. I hoped he wouldn't make a big deal out of the guys being shell-less; they certainly didn't seem to want to talk about it. I also hoped he wouldn't make a scene over the sisters, but that seemed highly unlikely. Even if the guys were oblivious, there was no way Casey would be…