Note: Thanks for the reviews!!! ::grins:: Sorry that this chapter is pretty short too, but I think the next one'll be longer. Don't kill me. x-0; heh.
The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: III
Raphael waited impatiently for April just outside the doors of the E.R. after she insisted she didn't need his help inside. That suited him just fine, Raph felt uncomfortable around all those humans, he didn't need them finding out what he was if they pissed him off and he lost it. "C'mon April, hurry it up." he growled under his breath as he began tapping his foot.
Suddenly, April wandered out of the E.R. doors wearing a pair of hospital scrubs under her coat. "I got it!" she whispered sharply to Raph as he looked her way. "Now let's go!"
Raphael smirked a little, gesturing towards the 'borrowed' uniform. "Nice threads."
April rolled her eyes. "I had to snatch these to get into the storage closet." she explained quickly. "Now can we just get out of here?!"
"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Raphael headed towards his motorcycle, April mounting the bike behind him. He revved up the bike once April put on the extra helmet, then sped off away from the hospital.
- - - - -
Groaning lowly and barely audible, Casey's left eye began to flutter open while his right eye was swolen shut. April, who was sitting beside the bed watching over him, suddenly stood up and waited for his eye to fully open. "Casey?" she called to him quietly. "Casey, it's April. Can you hear me?"
A soft moan escaped his lips before his left eye opened up all the way and he began to focus on the redhead hovering over him.
April managed a sympathetic smile, though it was a little forced. He looks in so much pain. She thought to herself, smile faltering briefly.
Taking in a painful breath, Casey tried to speak. "Ah - Ap....ril.....Hurrhh..tuh...I..." He closed his good eye tightly as if mentally cursing himself for not being able to speak clearly and in a correct sentence. His brain must have gotten a little more scrambled with that fall then he thought.
April frowned, her brows furrowing in concern as she tried to understand what he was trying to tell her. "Hurts too much to talk?" she asked him softly, then said. "Blink once for yes, twice for no."
Hurts to breathe. He thought. Casey slowly managed to blink once.
"Okay." April nodded to let him know she understood him. "I'll go get Donnie to give you some more morphine." she smiled faintly before hurrying to get the turtle.
As Donatello followed April back into the lab, he inserted another few miligrams of morphine into Casey's arm before bringing over the conconction of foul-smelling liquid that Splinter put together. "Try and get this down Case." he said gently. "It smells foul and probably tastes even worse, but it's garunteed to make you feel better."
Staring at the putrid smelling cup that Donatello was holding close to his face, Casey groaned, only able to think of what he really wanted to say because it hurt too much to do otherwise. Aw man, get that junk away from me Don. There's no way I'm gonna force down that! C'mon April, don't let 'im do it!
"We have to get him to sit up or he'll choke." April told Donatello just as he was about to pour the liquid in Casey's mouth.
Way ta help me out April. Casey thought with a bitter groan.
Donnie reached behind Casey's shoulders on one side as April went around the bed, doing the same on that side. They very slowly sat him up enough so that he could drink without choking, stuffing more pillows behind him.
Casey clenched his teeth so he didn't howl out in pain. His back was stiff and hurt like hell, probably from smashing onto that car roof from two stories up. It hurt to sit up like he was, but it's not like he could do anything about it. It didn't help much with his broken ribs either, and just made it harder to breathe. Casey looked to April with pleading eyes when she turned to him, then weakly brought up his right hand and brought it to his throat, motioning that he couldn't really breathe. "Nnh.." he moaned, gritting his teeth and slightly arcing his neck up.
April's glassy eyes looked to him with concern. "Hard to breathe, sitting up?" she asked, glancing once at Donatello who had no clue as to what Casey was gesturing about.
He blinked once, confirming that was a yes.
"Okay," April nodded, quickly taking the stinky concoction from Donnie and bringing it toward Casey's mouth. "Just swallow all of this and we can lay you back down."
Casey groaned, but slowly opened his mouth and prepared to quickly swallow as April carefully tilted the cup. If it meant he'd be able to breathe easier again, he'd drink it. Yick! This stuff tastes worse'n sewer water! He thought, struggling to keep it down.
Once all the nasty drink was gone, April and Donatello carefully laid Casey back down.
April smiled up at Donnie. "Hey, why don't you go get some rest. I'll take care of him tonight, you could use the sleep."
Hesitating at first, Donatello then nodded, knowing that looking after Casey would just make April feel better. He was also really longing to have a good night's sleep in his own bed. "Goodnight April, just let me know if you need anything."
Watching him leave, April turned back to look at Casey, lying there soundlessly for a moment. She sighed softly, then got up to get a cool wash cloth to dab at his bruised face. The least she could do was maybe help him feel a little better, though she doubted he'd get a good night's sleep.
Casey gazed up at April's face with his one good eye as she tended to him. Her glassy green eyes shimered from the little bit of light that remained on above the bed. Man, April looks real worried. Did I get hurt that bad? He wondered to himself as he felt the cooling sensation from the cloth, dabbing at the sore skin on his face. Jeeze, I didn't think she cared. Hmph. Not that I care if she cares....well, ah, who'm I kiddin'? There's no one else in my head that can know what I'm thinkin'. He mentally shrugged, then tried to focus back on April's face, even as his vision blurred with sleepiness.
When she noticed that her patient was dozing off, April gave a congenial smile and slowly pulled the cold cloth away. She quietly brought the cloth back to the sink and tossed it in as Casey fell asleep. Leaving the lab door open and heading out toward the couch, April flopped down with a tired sigh and prepared to catch a few Z's before checking up on Casey again.
- - - - -
Raphael's loud snoring from his bedroom had soon woken April, and with an exaggerated yawn, she got up off the couch and crept back toward the lab.
Casey laid awake, blinking up at the ceiling and the dim light above the bed. He was sore all over, but didn't want to wake anybody to let them know. He knew it was late, though he couldn't see the clock, and he felt bad that people were losing sleep worrying about him. They don't needta worry 'bout me, he thought, As soon as I can get up, I'll be taking care o' myself. Casey's good eye drifted off to the side when he heard someone walking toward the lab. It was April. Atleast now he didn't have to worry about waking anyone. He just wondered if she'd be able to give him something.
"You're awake," April whispered as she wandered over beside the bed. She watched his eye trail up to her face and she gently reached down and moved a stray hair from his forehead with a light smile. Figuring he was in pain, otherwise he wouldn't be awake, April asked, "Need some more medication?"
Casey eagerly blinked once, his eyes lingering closed for a moment.
"Okay, hold on." April went over to the cabinet where Donatello kept the syringes and the morphine. She knew exactly how much to give him from the note that Donnie smartly left on the inside door of the cabinet.
After filling the syringe with the correct dosage, April carefully injected it into the I.V. that Don had set up earlier. "There you go." she smiled as Casey closed his eye, feeling the medicine kicking in.
He made a soft, grateful groaning noise, then began drifting back off to sleep.
With a relieved sigh, April left the lab to return to sleeping on the couch. Unfortunately Raph's snoring would make it rather difficult to fall back asleep, but she put her head between two over-stuffed pillows and managed the task.
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