Undiscovered Power
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Leo ordered Donny to get whatever he needed to treat a serious cold straight away, and ignored poor Mikey asking what was this all about, and why he had heard Prida's name mentioned in the phone conversation. Finally Splinter stopped his son for second and told him to explain, and Leo did do while he was busy pulling on his trench coat, and throwing Mikey his own. It was pretty big news, Mikey found out, and double since it seemed Raph was not going to be lasting long. His mind was in overload, but somehow he managed to keep his questions silent, and the sudden urgent, fluttering energy that was killing him to be let out. Splinter was silent, for he too was caught by surprise by the unbelievable news that someone who they had thought was dead, had just spoken to his sons on the phone.
Donny had packed a backpack with almost all of his medical equipment and treatments. He even had an intravenous drip, which was thanks to April. He couldn't take the IV stand though, so he threw in a metal-centered pipe cleaner and duct tape to fasten it to the bed should he need to. His heart was racing more than it had when he had heard Prida's voice on the phone. He knew it would be up to him to treat their brother, but he had never tackled any seriously threatening virus, as it sounded.
The air that had once seemed quiet when they had been listening to Leo answer the phone was now buzzing with apprehension and unsettled shock. Splinter watched as they left quickly, muttering to themselves that it seemed unreal to be heading to a dead friend's house. Leo actually turned around in the sewers and yelled at Mikey that Prida wasn't dead, and then he continued on. Mikey remained blank faced the rest of the way, partly because the yell seemed to have disturbed him, and partly because there were so many emotions building up inside him he didn't know which one to show on his expression, so he didn't show one at all. They ran at full speed through the sewers, without a word, but it seemed to all three that it wasn't quiet at all. In their heads were so many mixed up and confused voices it seemed the sewers were packed with people all talking.
Donny felt afraid he would not have the right treatment for his brother, and he promised himself if he hadn't, he would take a risk and phone someone who could. Don and his brothers could make sure no one would do anything other than help their fourth brother. But the idea seemed crazy. When was April going to find out? When would they be able to get back down to Splinter, and would he be all right on his own? He should have come with them, Donny realized with a jolt of his heart. There were way too many questions queuing up in his brain, he suddenly felt claustrophobic as his eyes skimmed over the dark, damp sewer walls that sped past them as they ran on.
It seemed to take an eternity to reach the manhole, and they realized they were only half way. Prida's house was almost a mile away, and this seemed to frustrate them even more. They had forgotten the distance to her place in their haste to gather what they needed and leave for it. They felt as though they wasted so much time running through the dark streets, being soaked by the heavy downpour, and joined in the night by claps of thunder, and flashes of lightning. This made the atmosphere seem much more urgent. It felt like a film, in which they had only a short time to reach their destination before it was too late. A film where the most tension-filling and slow motion instrumental music was played, while other sounds were taken out, and movements exaggerated. To Leo, it felt like someone or something had moved Prida's house that far away on purpose, and this ludicrous thought only made him angry, allowing him to ignore the painful stitch in his side.
And to Prida, it seemed to take them forever to get there. It was like the tension in her heart had just been increased since she called the three brothers, like now she had, Raph only had a certain amount of time, as though a timer had been set. It was driving her crazy, but she managed to restrain herself from falling to her knees and screaming at the ceiling; though if she did she knew she would feel better, and she knew she would probably be calmer. Maybe she was inheriting Raph's impatience as he slowly grew worse and worse in the room below.
Prida made her way to the window in one of their TV rooms that looked out onto the road and the front gate. Even though it was raining she would still be able to see them from here. But she doubted even at their fast running speed they would be rounding the corner that second, so she went back down into the basement were Raph was unnervingly still. She approached him and was almost glad when he jerked his head with a groan.
The water in the bowl on the table was probably warm from all the times she kept dipping the burning washcloth in it, but she drenched the blue material in the water again and replaced it on her friend's green skin.
"I reached your brothers, Raph," she said quietly, letting the water cupped in her hands drip onto his face. "They're on their way." She felt a smile on her face because, however worried she felt for Raph, she was heavenly happy from hearing Leo and Donny's voices. She couldn't wait until they had taken care of Raph and made sure his fever would not raise anymore, so she could properly hear the relaxed tones of those two, and get to hear Mikey's voice. He would surely make her smile. She softened her grin and decided to return to the window and watch out for three drenched figures running through her gate. She stood up and made her way up the stairs to the room in which she could look out of the window.
No sooner had she stopped at the sill, she saw the three dark figures suddenly materialize through the rain, and her heart did a somersault for each figure. She turned away from the window as they got past the gate, and raced through the house to the front door, reaching the kitchen as a banging was heard over the noise of the sudden roar of thunder, and her own thudding heartbeat. She halted at the door, almost ramming into it, and wrenched the unlocked door open.
There, stood in triangle formation, were the three drenched, mutant turtle teens. They looked up as the door was pulled opened, and it seemed everyone froze. Prida stared at the nearest face, at the eyes behind the blue bandanna. Without moving herself, she switched her gaze behind Leo to his left to Mikey, and then to Leo's right, Donny, aware her mouth was opened, allowing stray raindrops to spill over her lips. And then the movement returned, and Leo and Prida both moved forward at the same time, catching each other in a tight hug, burring their faces in the other's shoulder as Mikey and Donny joined the huddle. Prida didn't realize she was half gasping, half sobbing tearlessly. She took her face out of Leo's shoulder and looked at Mikey, grasping his hand that was on her arm on Leo's shell. With the other hand she grabbed Donny's, and they exchanged saddened but happy looks.
"I can't believe it's you," she heard Leo breathe.
"Same here," she sniffed, a smile on her face. She was not sure if she had been crying or not because she was soaked from the rain. She was barefooted on her doorstep. Mikey and Donny seemed too happy for words.
"C'mon, we gotta go in," Leo told her, though he didn't let go, and neither did Donny or Mikey. Their smiles grew, creasing their closed eyes as no one moved.
Prida let out a short chuckle, face pressed back into Leo's neck; cheek fattened again Donny's. She was getting soaked by the second, and they all looked as though they had taken a dive in a lake. Finally, without anyone breaking the huddle, Leo, arms tightly around Prida, picked up her where she was, and with his brothers latched onto him, he shuffled inside the house, and they all could not help but laugh. Their spirits had been lifted so high they didn't want to move. But Prida managed to pull away, arms still draped over Leo's shoulders; hands still grasping Donny and Mikey's.
"You gotta see to Raph," she said, smile gone. "He's in the basement – I didn't know what to do –"
But Donny had let go of her hand, dripping coat dropped on the doormat, and was already heading towards the basement, seeming to know where it was straight away.
Mikey lifted her hand he was still holding and gently pulled her away from Leo, as he gave a thankful nod at her, and followed Donny quickly after taking his own coat off, exposing his green skin, and dropping it on Don's. Mikey pulled Prida into an embrace, and she rubbed her cheek against the side of his head, her heart was still racing she was sure, being pressed against him, Mikey could feel it.
Mikey wanted so much to go down to the basement and see his brother, who he missed as much as he realized he had missed Prida over the four months. But he did not want to get in Donny's way, and he wanted to hold Prida until his brothers had to pull them apart.
"So," Mikey sniffed, "are ya gonna tell us what happened?" He pulled away and watched her face, taking in every beautiful detail about her, even her ruffled hair.
She smiled sadly and said softly, "I'm gonna tell you all, when Raph's . . . okay . . ." the big worry was, is he going to BE okay?
He did not say or do anything for a second, and then he nodded understandingly, and she embraced him again, leaning her head on his collarbone. They both wanted to be down in the basement with the other three, but Mikey knew Donny had brought syringes, and he wasn't too keen on watching those being inserted under his brother's skin. Prida on the other hand, didn't care after needles; she just wanted to see Raph being treated at last.
Leo appeared in the hallway from the basement, and gave a smile as his brother pulled away from his friend.
"I thought you were with Donny?" Mikey asked rather quietly, wondering why his brother had come back upstairs. Mikey would have thought Leo would like to have remained with Raph until he knew he was okay.
"There's nothing I can do," Leo said softly as he pulled Prida into a short hug, and then stood back. "I felt so helpless, and Raph was . . . tossing his head in his fever . . . it scared me," he admitted much quieter. Prida suddenly felt the strong urge to lock him in another hug until he stopped feeling scared for his brother.
Mikey opened his mouth but it was a second or two before he said anything. "I-is he . . . going to be okay?" He asked in a shaky voice, which gave away the signs of effort he was making to keep his voice from sounding even shakier at the disturbing images of Raph rolling his read.
Leo didn't look at his brother, but his eyes kept dancing from spot to spot on the floor; nor did he answer him.
"We should go sit down, wait in the living room," he suggested in a voice that sounded slightly weak. Leo wanted to hear about what happened to Prida after they thought she had died and she they, but he was too worried to ask.
They moved into the big, dark living room they had once played Twister in, and Prida lit the log fire. After it had grown it bathed everyone in a soft, warm glow, and somehow, they felt that little bit more relaxed in the house. Every now and then a faint lighting flash would light up the room from the front room in which Prida had watched out for the turtles. Leo settled himself down on the edge of the dark blue couch, hands covering his face, and Mikey sat down next to the fire. Prida remained standing as she saw Leo had sat on the end closest to the heat as well, and she realized they must be cold after having come all the way from, well, she didn't know where they had come, but she guessed it was far. They looked up at her when she did not sit.
"I'll make you hot drinks," she said in a serious tone, so they knew she realized they must be cold. She turned to the kitchen, through the opening in the wall with no door (there are three entrances into the kitchen, one through the hallway, one through the living room, and the other leading into the back rooms), and walked up to the refrigerator. She proceeded to make four steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and brought Mikey and Leo's in quickly. They seemed very grateful, and thanked her. She could see them shaking, and remembered that turtles were cold-blooded, so the cold probably effected them more than her. Prida walked over to the couch Leo was sat on, and picked up the dark, burgundy colored throw rug that was draped over the middle of the couch. She then unfolded it and draped it around Leo, who seemed slightly surprised at her thoughtfulness. He thanked her as she took the other one off the single chair, knelt down and gently wrapped Mikey up, who smiled tiredly. She then went back into the kitchen for Donny's drink. She wondered how long he was going to spend on Raph. With slow movements, she put his drink in the microwave so it wouldn't turn cold too quickly, and picked up her own. She wanted to take Donny's down to him, but she dared not disturb him. She returned to the living room, aware most of her movements seemed slow, as if not just her face showed the happiness and sadness, but her whole bodily motions.
Prida looked at her two friends in the room. Mikey, with the throw rug draped around him, was staring into the fire, an expression on his face of automatic, sad thoughts. Leo had been staring down into his drink, but looked up and smiled weakly as she walked in. They were sad for their brother, yet she could tell they were also feeling sad about the fact that all this time they had thought that their friend was dead, and the pain and suffering they went through was not necessary as she wasn't. She realized they must also still be in slight shock. She herself had known they were alive for a bit longer because Raph had told her so, and she was still grasping it. But, however sad that cruel twist of fate had been for her, being in the coma and having her think her friends were dead and vice versa, she was beyond happiness to find them alive.
She sat down next to Leo, and cuddled close to him, tucking her legs underneath her. He smiled and, letting go of his mug with one hand, put an arm around her and she lent her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, feeling so safe and secure sat there, she never wanted to move, and she wished she could have enjoyed it more if she had nothing to worry about.
They didn't utter a word for what seemed like an hour. It was about fifteen minutes before Prida opened her eyes and glanced at the clock, illuminated on the VCR. She looked up and found Leo had dozed off, and she looked around him to the fire where Mikey was curled up, still in front of it. Both had drunk their hot chocolates she saw as she carefully lifted Leo's arm and placed it down next to him on the couch. She took his mug, got up and picked up Mikey's, and made her way back to the kitchen, where she tried putting the cups down without making any clink sounds. She then opened the microwave and pulled out Donny's. It wasn't steaming, but it was still warm, and she made her way out of the kitchen, through the living room and to the basement. She took the stairs carefully, trying not to make a sound, and trying not to spill the full drink. She reached the bottom and slowly turned the corner, peering from around the edge of the wall. Donny had his shell to her, sat on the side of his thighs, legs curled round, leaning on the bed, obviously asleep. She walked over and saw that he had fallen asleep on his right cheek, mouth slightly open in that cute way. His cheek was on his own hand, which was holding Raph's. Raph, she noticed, had stopped tossing his head, and was sleeping peacefully with his head turned towards her, also with his mouth open slightly. She could see his chest, or plastron, rise and fall gently and steadily. There was a drip taped into his other hand, and the transparent bag was stuck to the bedpost with what looked like duct tape. The tube had also been tied to the bed with a bent pipe cleaner. Prida sighed silently with a smile as she looked down at the turtle in purple. Donny had saved Raph.
She placed the mug down on the bedside table, then she moved to the end of the bed and reached down between the bed and the wall to a spare sheet she had kicked off the time she slept down here. She unfolded it, noticing the creasing it had formed, and laid it over Donny. When her hand brushed against his arm he made a noise and shifted his legs before he opened his bleary eyes.
"Huh?" He grunted softly, confused for a second before blinking a few rapid times and looking up at her. "Prida," he said as she knelt down beside him, with a soft smile on her face. He reflected it and said in a quiet tone, "he's okay."
Prida closed her eyes for a second before hugging him. They pulled away and Donny asked, "Where are the others?"
"They're asleep," she answered in the same quiet tone as he used.
"They were asleep," came a tired voice, and they both looked up to see Leo and Mikey at the end of the wall. Mikey was rubbing his eyes.
They both walked towards Don, Prida and the bed, and Mikey crawled onto it, sitting down with his shell against the wall, and one leg across Raph's. He held his brothers taped up hand in both of his and looked up at Donny with a tired, yet very happy smile.
"He'll be okay," Donny whispered with the slightest nod of his head, and a genuinely happy, but small smile.
Then, all smiling, they moved forward at the same time into a tight, happy hug.
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Thanks a billion for your reviews, I hope you liked this chapter becoz it was god damn difficult! I'm not used to writing such *luks up at story* sensitive? Mushy? Touching – ah, that's the word – chapters, lol. I only just realized how long it took for them to finally meet bk up with Prida, and I'm sorry, I didn't realize my story was dragging on. Next chapter will either be updated before Saturday, or not until 2 weeks, coz I'm going on vacation, but I get to take my Laptop with me! Mwahaha, I think the main reason the holiday was booked was to get me away from computers, *snigger* so I get to write while away. (plz tell me if this is getting too boring, or too *makes face* touching, coz it's not ment to be, I must have been imagining myself in this chapter *grins insanely*. So adios, cya, turtle power.