DISCLAIMER – Second to last chapter! Yeah! Well, then there's the epilogue. Sorry about the wait. I really appreciate your patience! I did explain the reason for this chapter's delay, but now that everyone is back to their usual routine, I can get back to mine; writing!
(Kisses the keyboard - "It's been so long since we last 'danced'!")
Anyway, I don't own any TMNT's or their constituents, other than my own OC's. I also did my best to research certain injuries, but I was anxious to get this story finished. Therefore, I do not guarantee the validity of particular spinal cord mishaps.
With that said, on with the story…
Chapter 14 – Encounters of the Angry Kind
Cassie had been livid, angrier than Don had ever known her to be. Of course, many husbands would have preferred the kind of silence she gave him rather than a long string of well-chosen words.
However, not Don.
Cassie's mute response on the other end of the cell phone meant only one thing to him.
She was saving her wrath for later, where in the privacy of their bedroom she would make her feelings known. Don was only thankful that he had the foresight to soundproof the rooms when he had first installed them on the jet. Of course, the purpose in doing so was for intimate reasons, yet he highly doubted that he would be getting much of that in the coming days.
Sighing as he hung up the phone, he continued driving on towards the hospital, not saying a word. After a long sustained moment of silence, Mike asked him quietly, "She pissed?"
Don grunted, "I might end up taking in a hotel for a few days." Then he turned a bit to look at his brother, "After she gets done at the hospital, would you do the honors and take Marie over to the plane?"
Chuckling under his breath, Mike replied, "You must think that a lot of us are stupid tonight, Don. I already have my fill of disgruntled wives, and women in general. Sorry, bro, this one's on you!"
"You're a lot of help." Don grumbled irritably.
"Hey, between Rahab and Riahna, I've enough on my mind, 'kay? Not to mention the business at home." Mike looked out the passenger-side window and groaned, "that is, if I even have a business when I get back home."
When they arrived at the hospital, Marie was first out of the car. Despite her girth, the woman was quite nimble. Focused on getting inside to find out about her 'panik', she was through the front doors, well ahead of the trio of mutants who followed in behind her.
"Where is my Gabby?" she announced loudly, and to no one in particular, "I want to know what has happened to my panik!" Shoving her hood back off her head, she revealed her dark hair and slightly Asian complexion, easily identifying herself as a native of the frozen north. She quickly spied the admittance booth and rushed it. "Where is my Gabby," she demanded earnestly as she approached the clerk, "she has red curly hair, she's sort of – green."
"M'am, you'll have to take a seat over there while I check with the family," the girl replied evenly, understanding of whom the woman was referring.
"What do you mean family? I AM family!" she bellowed.
A hand gently took her elbow. Marie whirled around, pulling her arm away in defense, "What?" then seeing it was only Don, "Oh, it's you, Mr. Tello."
"This way, Marie," he smiled, looked at the clerk, "She's with us," and then Don coaxed the woman to walk with him, "My family is in a private waiting room. Are you hungry, maybe thirsty?" he asked.
"Actually, yes, I would like a cup of tea, if that's permissible," she replied, but then Marie looked at him in warning, "But nothing other than water and the teabag! If I find myself falling asleep, I'll be blaming you!"
Chuckling a little, Don reassured her, "No need to worry, Marie. If Gabby is able to receive visitors while you're here, I'm sure she'll look forward to seeing you."
Soon, Don had her in the room where the other members of his family were waiting. As soon as she noticed those assembled there, however, she measured her words out deliberately as she narrowed her expression, "Which one of you is Leonardo?" The woman eyed each of the three mutants clustered together, completely ignoring Tricia sitting across from them.
Don's eye ridges rose up just a bit, with a small smile playing along the edges of his mouth. "This should prove interesting," he thought silently.
Raph did not miss Don's expression at all and, neither did Leo. However, before he could say anything, Raph eagerly pointed to him as he kept an eye on the woman, "He's Leonardo!"
Leo turned sharply around to look at his brother, exclaiming hotly, "You know, I could have told her that."
"Yeah," Raph remarked, "But you were taking too long."
"Too long? She just asked the question, how fast do you expect me to be?" his brother grumped.
"Well, considering the look on her face, faster than you were getting around to answering." He then stood up, saying, "I don't know why she's ticked off, Leo, but whatever the reason, I'm giving you a wide berth!" Raphael then went to sit down next to Tricia.
The girl's eyes widened just a little. Okay, so Leo told her that Raph was harmless, almost, just don't make him mad. That's what he had said. So far, during the hour or so that she had been alone in the room with the three, they had exchanged nothing more than pleasantries.
She had found Seth to be more distant, but she attributed this to his concern for his wife. Still, he seemed nice enough, considering his distracted mental state.
Regarding Leo, she rather liked him where he was the most talkative of the three. Then, again, it seemed he sensed her discomfort, too, and tried to placate her concerns. It amazed her how he was able to calm her uneasiness. It was odd how he had done that, too, she had thought to herself. His voice alone seemed to ease her anxieties, counteracting her insecurities like a warm breath of air against the frigid chill of outside.
As far as Raph was concerned, though, he didn't say much, except to ask her what she did for a living, "…other than impersonating mutant reptiles!" he had grumped.
Although the girl was somewhat amused by Leo's immediate admonishment of his brother's rudeness, she had quickly determined that Raph was not one to trifle with. Consequently, she talked about her waitressing at the nightclub, going to school, and her casual interest in music. She apologized profusely for deceiving them and blamed her ignorance about why Gabby was in Fairbanks. Although Raph was very cryptic with the reasons why his daughter was there, Tricia figured out that her friend had run away.
After a while, the girl began to relax as she became a little more acquainted with the family. Yet, it was not lost on her that, for the most part, they were the ones asking the questions, while avoiding any directed towards them. Nevertheless, the girl had enough common sense about not pushing the matter. Where most people knew so little about them, anyway, it was probably deliberate on their part to remain a mystery. If there was aspect to Tricia, she knew when to ask questions and when to avoid them entirely.
Now, with Raph sitting next to her, the girl's anxiety went up just a little. It was one thing having him sitting across from her, but to have him right next to her was another matter entirely. Consequently, she erred on the side caution and tried to relax – and pretend he wasn't there.
Instead, she watched as Devon quickly found a seat just beyond where his father sat, nodding towards her in casual greeting. Then, he sighed and settled back into his chair. With his arms crossed in front of him, he allowed his chin to settle into his chest as he closed his eyes. He sighed once and seemed to instantly fall asleep, ignoring the Inuit woman who now advanced upon Leonardo.
When Marie demanded to know who Leo was, Tricia had caught the angry tone in the woman's voice. She watched, now, as Marie stood before Seth's father. For whatever reason she had, the Inuit woman was not pleased with him.
Giving him a long stern look, Marie finally asked, "Are you the one who decided to take Mindy away from her mother?"
Leo's eyes widened. Looking over at Don, he asked, "What did you tell her, Don?"
Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, "Nothing but the truth, Leo," and then he smirked, clearly amused.
Rolling his eyes, Leo shook his head and then looked up at the woman. He attempted to stand, but she took a step towards him and said as she motioned with her gloved hands, palms out, "That's okay, you can remain seated. Answer my question, though, why did you want to take Mindy away from her mother?"
Fortunately, for Leo, there was a knock at the door, which ended the inquisition before it had a chance to start. Where Mike was closest, he opened it to reveal Dr. Mills, who carried a clipboard in hand.
Everyone in the room became instantly alert.
"Mr. Tello?" the doctor inquired.
Don stepped forward, "Yes, Doctor? Do you have any more word on my niece?"
"Yes, I do," the man stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him, turning back to the family and cleared his throat, saying, "Gabriella is currently resting, although she's still unconscious. Aside from her broken legs and her left wrist, she also suffered a severe concussion. We did an MRI to be on the safe side and, although we did not find any breakage along Gabriella's spine, there is some evidence of swelling along the lower vertebrae. More than likely, when the car rolled, she strained her back. Pulling herself out of the car probably compounded it. Right now, with both of her legs in casts and virtually immobile, it's too early to tell what this means until she wakes up. Worse case scenario is she might have partial paralysis of one or both legs. Only time will tell."
Seth stood up then and asked almost desperately, "Can I see her - please?"
"You're her husband?" the doctor inquired.
"Yes, that's correct," he replied.
"I can understand how anxious you must be, but I'd like to keep her isolated for now, until morning, to allow her to come out of her coma naturally. It would be better if you wait until then," Dr. Mills explained, saying, "I would suggest that all of you get some rest and let the hospital staff take care of Gabriella over the next several hours." He saw the almost pained expression on Seth's face, so he commented, "Don't worry, your wife will recover, it's just a matter of allowing enough time for the swelling in her brain to diminish."
"Doctor Mills," Don remarked, "please, if there is any change at all, do not hesitate to call us. You have my number. We'll be at the airport on my plane."
"I do and I will," the physician smiled and quickly left the room.
"Well, I think its best that we all get on over to the plane," Don declared, "I think the doctor is correct in that we all need to get our rest. Tomorrow is going to be quite busy and more than likely stressful."
Seth remarked, "Yeah, I'm anxious to see Mindy again, not to mention my son."
Whereupon Marie asked, "You are Gabby's husband, then?"
"Yes," he replied warily, wondering if this woman would have something to say to him, "I am."
"Gabby has missed you – terribly." Marie said sadly.
Seth said nothing, if only because he was more concerned with his wife's health at present than whether or not she missed him during her five-year absence.
"She missed everyone, in fact," the woman added soberly as she looked around.
"Well," Raph grumped as he passed Marie to head for the now-opened door of the waiting room, "she sure has a twisted way of showin' it."
Before he could make it out of the room, however, Marie reached over and grabbed his arm, forcing Raph to stop, "She told me a little about what happened when she first left, she was frightened. Leaving her home was not easy for her to do," she said, "Gabby told me how the first few months were terrifying for her and she was certain that if she returned…" Marie stopped for a moment, as Raph looked hard at her. She met his gaze with an equal force as she continued, "Gabby was certain that you and the others would take her children and then – banish her forever."
Snorting, Raph nearly spat back at the woman, "We'd never do that, not in a million years." He leveled his gaze and narrowed his expression considerably, "I may be pissed as hell with her, but she's still my daughter! If ANYone in this family talked banishment, they would have to include me as well. That doesn't mean she's not goin' t'get an ear-full later – when she's better."
Nodding in agreement, Marie exclaimed, "Although I do not agree with the family's plan of taking her children from her, you would be in your right to admonish her. I did as much initially, when she finally told me about her situation." She looked at Leo, and then to Don, "She did not share much, other than that, but I did tell her that running away never solves anything."
Don smiled, "Yes, you are very correct, Marie." He then looked over at Tricia, "I trust that you have some place to spend the night?"
"Yeah, I do…I have an apartment not far from here," the girl replied, "I don't work until the late afternoon, so, if it's all right, I can meet up with you guys tomorrow morning."
"We'll look forward to seeing you, then," Don entreated, "and I'm sure that Gabby – if she awakens – will be glad for your presence, as well."
Less than thirty minutes later and after Tricia went back to her apartment, Marie and the others were at the airport and inside the 737 airliner.
When Don came through the door of the plane, Cassie was waiting for him. However, one look at her told him that whatever plans he had of catching a little 'shut-eye' would be curtailed until they had a 'talk'. He tried to placate her, though, just the same.
"Gabby's doing well, my dear," he smiled cheerily. Although he did not expect a like response, the glare his wife gave him chilled him to the bone. He took a deep breath and added, "The doctor didn't want her to have any visitors right now, where she's sleeping. He encouraged us to come back later. So, come morning, we'll all go over to be with her." He gently caressed his wife's shoulders with his hands affectionately.
Cassie stiffened against his ministrations, narrowing her expression as she asked, "So, how badly injured is she, Don?"
"Ah, yeah, well…" Don replied as he dropped his expression just a little, "Both her legs and her left wrist are broken. But, they should heal up nicely." He looked back at her and smiled.
"What else?" Cassie asked.
"What else?" Don parroted, "ah, well…she has a bit of bruising on her back, but no fractures or anything liked that." He tried to act confident.
Cocking her head, Cassandra repeated, "What else, Don? You're holding back and you know that you will not get any rest tonight until you tell me."
Raph grumped under his breath, "And neither will the rest of us, either. So – Don – just tell her, okay?"
Sighing in defeat, Don shrugged and finally said to his wife, "The doctor found swelling along her lower spine and thought that she probably won't have any problems, but there is a slight chance that she might end up – partially paralyzed." He waited, watching and assessing the woman's immediate reaction.
At first, Cassie stared him down, her eyes fixed on his and her expression stoic. Then, Don felt a slight shudder from her body ripple under his hands, belying Cassandra's pent up concerns. Finally and with tears pooling in her eyes, she whispered her declaration, "You will spare no expense to make sure that it doesn't happen, correct?"
Nodding eagerly, Don concurred, "Yes, my love, no expense is too much. As soon as I can, I'll have her flown to the best rehabilitation center. My word of honor!"
"Your honor will be severely tested, Don. So far, your wisdom in how you've handled my daughter's situation leaves a lot to be desired."
"I know, I know…and – I'm very sorry, Cassie." Don groveled. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and then wrapped her in his arms, leaning his head against hers, "This is not what I wanted to happen, not at all. I'm as overwhelmed as everyone is."
"You have no idea how overwhelmed you're going to be if this does not have a happy outcome!" his wife snapped.
With that, she pulled away from him, smartly turned around, and then headed back towards the sleeping compartments.
As she quickly disappeared inside their bedroom and shut the door behind her, Mike commented to no one in particular, "Yep, she's pissed, all right!"
COMMENTS –
CHIBI ROSE ANGEL – Ah, as far as my muses, I do feel like a prisoner sometimes. Splinter's words were only for Gabby and for that moment in her life. Other than stating the obvious to her, they held little meaning for anyone else. If the professor were the one to meet her in the nether reaches of her mind or spiritual existence, she might not have had the profound reaction she did. Splinter is someone she had only heard about and probably wished she had the chance to meet. His revered reputation in the clan was sterling and, therefore, carried more weight. As for the age of the TMNT's, I can only offer a guesstament. When Gabby arrived ten years earlier, it had been thirty-five years since they had left the lair. Raph – the oldest in this particular universe – was twenty-two. That would make him fifty-seven when Don picked Gabby up in Connecticut. Add ten years to the present timeline of this story, and – well – they're up there in age, that's all I can say. Leo is a year younger than Raph, with Donnie and Mike next in line by a year. Keep in mind, though, that turtles can have a long life-span. Tortises have longer ones, but turtles are capable of long lives. Devon is Raph's son through Rahab. R&R were married together at one time. Very angsty story. Anyway, glad you've heard of Peretti; he's an awesome writer. Thanks for your patience, for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
LUNAR-NINJA – Ah, poor Don; it's so easy to torture him! Bwahahaha…. His time in hot water will only get worse, although I don't think I'm going to expound on it much. Need to finish this story. Cassie is the love of his life, his wife, his beloved, and any man who truly loves his wife is not going to delight in getting her mad. Normally. But, making up is always something to look forward to and he DEARLY wants to make up. LOL Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
PACPHYS – I probably made Marie a bit OOC as far as how Inuit women are supposed to behave. But, there's always the rogue, eh? Mike and Devon are no slouches in recognizing a disgruntled woman; I mean, have you read Rahab? Whooo, there's a woman who can get angry, believe me. Mike knows better than to tangle with a woman bent on verbal destruction. Blackwater, graywater, it's all water, but its components are the stuff of nightmares. My dad has an RV, so I know a little about these things. Jets have to have some sort of container to store all that 'stuff'. Yuck. Ever been on a cruise ship whose plumbing backs up? All it takes is one bathroom to have problems and they ALL have problems. The 'darker' side of cruises. I've only been on one and – wouldn't you know – it was our bathroom that had to have work done on it. Again, they have to have someplace to put all that 'stuff'. I corrected the problem with Seth being in two places at once. I just can't remember if I actually applied the correction to the on-line version. Hmm….I need to go back and check that out. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
RAMICA – Marie is very protective and I wanted to say why in this chapter, but – I decided to wait until maybe the epilogue. That is, if I don't forget to! LOL Marie is as quick with her wit as she is with her mouth, I'm afraid. A little bit of my mom in that woman, so a nod to my madre, may she rest in peace. Poor Don, indeed. At least, he can look forward to the 'making up' part between him and Cassie! Tee hee. Thanks for being so patient, and for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.