"Farewell Dear Friend"

Disclaimer: The TMNT Belong to Mirage

Special thanks to Reinbeauchaser for editing

Chapter 6 A turn for the worst

Early one morning, Raphael woke up with the distinct feeling that there was something very wrong. He got out of his hammock, left his room, and jumped down to the lower level of the lair. Donatello was on his shell cell with a sad, serious expression on his face. Leonardo and Michelangelo were next to him looking equally worried.

"Yes, April. Master Splinter is on his way now. Can you get rid of the day nurse?" Donatello paused and listened before speaking again. "He'd better not show up and try to take her to a hospital. Master Splinter wants to make sure Maggie gets her way. He's pretty upset." Donatello listened for a moment then nodded. "Okay, April, we'll be there as soon as we can." Donatello shut off the Shell Cell and looked squarely at Raphael. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and said, "Maggie took a turn for the worst early this morning."

"No!" Raphael said, horror-stricken. "You mean she's..."

"Not yet," Leonardo said as calmly as he could, but even Raphael could tell that Leonardo was feeling the strain. "Her nurse said she had a seizure, and she's been lapsing in and out of consciousness ever since."

"Why didn't you guys wake me up!" Raphael said, suddenly angry. He knew getting mad at fate wasn't going to do any good, but he had to take his frustration out on someone.

Leonardo must have sensed what Raphael was about to do. Firmly, he shot back. "We didn't have time to! Don didn't even finish the call with April until now!"

There was something about Leonardo's tone that made Raphael get a grip on his own temper. Maggie must have had a bigger effect on Leonardo than he let on to the others.

Very quietly, Donatello said, "April wanted us to get over there as soon as possible."

Leonardo nodded and led the others over to Maggie's house. Once there, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo hid in the well of the brownstone while Leonardo stealthily knocked on the front door. He jumped out of sight when the door opened, but to their relief it was April. She seemed very unhappy and preoccupied. She didn't even jump when Leonardo appeared out of hiding.

"You're here, good," April said. She opened the door wide and instantly the four of them were inside of the house.

Once inside, Leonardo asked, "How is Maggie?"

"No change," April said sadly. "Splinter is in there with her now, but she's been asking to see you, Raph.""Me?" Raphael echoed, puzzled. "Why does she want to see just me?"

"I don't know," April said with a shake of her head. "She won't tell anyone. She just keeps saying she needs to see you, and that it's important."

Raphael sighed heavily. "Then I guess I'd better go see her," he said. He moved away from the others and down the hallway to Maggie's bedroom.

The door was open like always, but the sight inside was not what Raphael was used to seeing. Maggie was not sitting up and smiling in her bed. Instead, she was laying down unconscious, looking far too small to be in that huge king-sized bed alone. Splinter was at her side with her hand in both of his. Even though he had his eyes closed and his expression was one of meditation, Raphael could tell that his sensei's eyes were full of tears.

Ever so quietly, Raphael tapped on the door. Splinter looked up and smiled, but his smile was lined with sadness.

"Raphael," Splinter said relieved. "Margaret has been asking for you,"

Raphael nodded and asked quietly. "How is she?"

Splinter lowered his head, and allowed a tear to fall. "She does not have the strength to stay awake for very long. I fear that her time is soon."

"Not as soon as all that," a voice said from the bed. Raphael and Splinter looked down to see Maggie open her eyes.

"Margaret," Splinter said with a gentle smile.

Raphael knelt down to take her other hand. "Maggie," he said as softly as he could.

Maggie seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Her attention wandered away from Raphael and Splinter for a moment then turned back to the pair. "Splinter, dear," she said sounding very tired.

Splinter did not wait for her to make her request. He bowed to her and said, "the others are probably wondering how you are feeling." With that, he turned and left the room, making Raphael feel very uncomfortable.

Maggie chuckled weakly. "Don't be afraid, Raphael. I just wanted to ask you to do something for me."

"Whatever you want, Maggie," Raphael said eagerly. He knew that this was a last request, but he didn't care. Anything that would make Maggie happy and content was all right with him.

Maggie broke into a satisfied smile. "Go into the second drawer from my dresser. There is a magazine in there that I need you to see."

Raphael rose from the bed and did what he was told. Inside the drawer was a wrestling magazine from nearly forty years ago. "Maggie, were you into wrestling?"

"No, my daughter eloped with a wrestler," Maggie said with a sad sigh. "I never saw her again. He's on page twenty three. The big fellow with the dark hair."

Raphael turned to the page, and looked at the heading. "Atilla the Barbarian," he read. He was instantly drawn to the man's face. There was something very familiar about him that Raphael just couldn't place. As he held the magazine, a photograph fell out. Raphael picked it up, and saw that it was a school photograph of a young blond girl.

"That is Caroline, my daughter," Maggie explained. "She did keep in touch with letters, but she knew I never approved of her boyfriend. That's why she ran away with him. The last I heard from her was a letter from her husband. Apparently she died in childbirth."

Raphael had no idea. "Maggie . . . I," he began but Maggie hushed him instantly.

"It was along time ago, dear. The reason I'm telling you all this now is that, according to Martin's letter - that was her husband's real name, Martin Castillo - she did have a son, but I never saw him, and Martin never wrote to me again."

"Maggie, I'm really sorry about that, but what has all this to do with me?" Raphael did feel bad for Maggie but he had no idea why she was telling him.

"You and your friend Casey have friends on the street don't you? Michelangelo seemed to think that you did."

Raphael flushed embarrassed. He didn't know that any of his brothers knew what he did on his outings with Casey. "Maybe," he said trying to keep his voice even.

"I want you to find him for me," Maggie said. When she saw Raphael start, she said. "Not before I die, heavens I would have asked Splinter years ago if I meant to see him. I felt that I had been out of his life for so long; it would be an intrusion to interfere now. I just wanted him to know I existed. He is entitled to some family heirlooms, and some of my money. I plan to give a great deal of it to charity, but he should know his family history. He should know his grandfather was a gunner in the navy and that he died at Pearl Harbor. This will be his last chance to know who he is."

Raphael thought about it. Maggie was right. She didn't want to interfere with this guy's life, just give him information he may have been looking for anyway. Curious, he looked at the wrestler's face again.

No way! Raphael suddenly recognized something in the face of the man, something he hadn't seen before. He had to imagine him blond with blue hazel eyes but the resemblance was uncanny. It can't be. I'm not seeing this. That can't be his dad!

Raphael was about to tell Maggie that he couldn't possibly do this, when she looked up at him with a weak smile and said, "Thank you so much Raphael. I knew you would."

Raphael sighed, and gave in. He now understood something both Splinter and Leonardo told him a few weeks ago. Man, they were right. No matter how much you want to, you can't say no to Maggie.

When Raphael joined the others in the living room, everyone looked at Raphael expectantly, but no one said a word. It only took a few seconds for Raphael to understand what no one wanted to ask.

"She's still with us," Raphael said flatly. "She . . . she just wanted to ask me for a favor."

Leonardo was the first to speak. He rose from the couch and slowly moved toward Raphael. "Raph," Leonardo asked uncertainly.

"I'll tell you later Leo," Raphael said. He had already made his decision. If he was right about the identity of Maggie's grandson, he was going to need at least Leonardo's help to find out the truth.

When dawn came, nobody wanted to leave. Casey came over and stayed with them. At ten that morning they heard a knock on the door. Instantly, the four and Splinter hid within the house, while April answered the door. It was Matthew Connor, the lawyer.

"Miss O'Neil," he said flatly.

"Mister Connor," she said as pleasantly as she could. "Maggie is still lapsing in and out of consciousness."

"You fired the nurse," Mister Connor said sternly.

"No," April said a little testy now at the implication. "She's on leave. Maggie wanted her friends here, and having too many strangers around makes them nervous. They've been taking care of her in the evenings after the nurse goes home, anyway."

"Where are they now?" Mister Conner asked.

"They're here," Casey said in a slightly hostile tone. "They just don't want to be seen." Now the lawyer sighed. "I wish I knew what was so special about TCRI that Maggie insisted on keeping it a secret." He said. "The government is still investigating what happened at that building."

"I know," April said, "But that's going to be difficult. The people who worked there are long gone, and they probably won't be back."

"I'm sure," the lawyer said firmly. "I would just feel better about the whole thing if I knew what was going on."

"Don't you trust Maggie?" Casey asked mischievously. That got a hostile reaction from the lawyer.

"Well of course I trust her, but she won't tell me what's this is all about either, and now sending the nurse away."

"She won't share the secret, because it's not her secret to tell," April explained. "And it's not ours either."

That made Connor stop for a moment. In a last, weak protest, he said, "You know you're under investigation by the United States Government."

"The Earth Protection Federation," April said with a smile. "Yes I know, and our friends are the reason for that too. And when you asked Agent Bishop for more information, he clammed up real fast."

"Very accurate, Miss O'Neil," Mister Connor said with a sigh. "I just wish I understood."

April suddenly smiled. "Turn around Mister Connor."

As he did so, he saw a series of weapons laid out neatly on the floor. "I don't understand," he said.

"They're letting you know they're here," Casey explained. "They won't let you see them, but they want you to know they're here. They respect you, but they don't want to leave."

Mister Connor knelt down and examined the weapons. "They're martial artists, like Yoshi was. They're the mysterious grandsons Maggie's told me about."

April nodded.

The lawyer nodded heavily. "Very well. I would still like to speak with them, but if they're that secretive, I won't push it. I'd still like to speak to-" Suddenly, he was interrupted by another knock at the door.

Keeping out of sight Leonardo looked out the window. "April, I think it's Maggie's doctor." The sound of Leonardo's invisible voice caused the lawyer to jump.

"Just great," April said sullenly. "He was here last month trying to get Maggie to go into the hospital."

"It didn't work obviously," The lawyer said with a smile. "I'll help you fight him off."

Raphael couldn't resist adding his own two cents from his hiding place. "And if that don't work we can scare him off."

Splinter's voice came through loud and clear. "You will do no such thing, Raphael!"

Leonardo chuckled. "I don't know sensei I may vote with Raph on this one if the doctor is as bad as April says."

Splinter sighed. "We shall see."

The knocking came again. With a sigh, April said. "Okay I'll answer it." She went to the front door and answered it.

There stood a young man with dark brown hair and deep green eyes. He was dressed in a shirt and slacks with a white lab coat. "Oh you again," he said sternly. "I want to speak to Margaret Williams please."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Stern," April said as sternly as she could without sounding rude. "But Miss Margaret isn't seeing anyone right now."

"But Mister Connor is here, and so are you," he said stepping into the house, uninvited. "Maggie's gotten worse, hasn't she? Just like I told you she would. I -"

"You are leaving, Doctor Stern," April said firmly. "Maggie doesn't want to see you. She didn't want to see you last month and she doesn't want to see you now. She wants you to leave her alone."

"I could have you arrested for interfering with a medical emergency, Miss O'Neil," he began but then Mister Connor stepped forward.

"And you would find yourself sued for interfering with a living will. Maggie made it very clear to me that she did not want any medical assistance. It's all in here very plain and very legal."

The doctor frowned, not expecting such resistance. "So you're just going to sit around and wait for her to die!"

"Casey stood next to April. "It beats what you want to do to her, doc, putting her in a hospital and sticking tubes into her. I went though that with my grandma, and it didn't do her any justice!"

"But you don't understand!" Doctor Stern began.

Raphael couldn't stand it any longer. He jumped out of hiding and confronted the young doctor.

"Raphael!" Everyone shouted.

"No, you don't understand!" Raphael said firmly shoving himself into the young man's face. "Maggie is going to die whether or not you do anything about it! You told her that months ago. She told us if she had to die, she was going to die by her rules. She wants to be here surrounded by her friends, and I'll clobber the first person who dares take that away from her."

The doctor was completely flabbergasted by Raphael's appearance. "What . . . who . . . how?"

Casey gently pushed Raphael behind him as he faced the young doctor. "You didn't see anything. In fact, you weren't even here. Now get out."

That seemed to make the young man focus. "I see. Got it. I was never here. Good." He backed away and ran for the front door. In seconds, he was gone.

Now Raphael was standing there in front of April, Casey, and Mister Connor. Suddenly he realized that he exposed himself to the lawyer. His cheeks flushed an embarrassed, copper hue. "I'm in deep trouble, aren't I?" Raphael said to April.

"Real deep," April said sternly. Mister Conner was staring at Raphael with his mouth open in shock.

"This is what Maggie didn't want to tell me about," Mister Connor said to April when he managed to speak again.

"Pretty much," April said with a grin.

"There's a lot more to this story, isn't there?" He asked.

April and Casey both nodded. "Yeah a lot more," Casey admitted.

Mister Connor frowned and sighed. "You're not going to tell me are you?" He asked.

"We'd rather not," April said honestly.

Mister Connor sighed again and gave in. "I think I'm going to say hello to Maggie, and then go home knowing that she is in good hands." He said. "And I'm going to forget what I saw here."

"We'd appreciate it if you would," April said with a smile.

Later, as Casey brought in some Quiznos sandwiches, he heard Splinter lecturing Raphael.

"It was foolish and reckless. What if they tell others about us?"

"I don't think Mister Connor will," April said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation. "Now that he knows that Maggie had a reason for her secrecy I think he'll respect that secret. He'll also keep that young doctor from talking too. He called a little while ago."

Splinter did not look mollified. "Still it was foolish and reckless. What if Maggie's friend had not been here."

"I know, I know, sensei," Raphael said sadly. "I... I just didn't want this guy to bother Maggie."

"I can't blame him there," Leonardo said sadly. "He was frustrating me too."

Splinter sighed sadly. "Nor can I," he said. He still looked angry. "If Margaret was not so ill, I would send you home." Splinter looked at him sternly, but everyone could tell that something else was occupying his thoughts. "Twenty flips on the roof."

Raphael didn't even bother arguing. "Yes, Master Splinter," he said. Without another word to the others, he went up to the roof.

Splinter did allow Raphael to tell Maggie what he had done. It made Maggie laugh, though she worried about them being discovered.

"Ahhh that lawyer friend of yours called Doctor Stern later. He either blackmailed him somehow or at least got him to agree to forget what he saw. He called April and said if you wanted to, he'd put all your business in her hands and he'd have the papers drawn up tomorrow."

Maggie smiled. "I asked him to do that several months ago, but he was so suspicious. I'm glad he's doing it now."

"I think he understands now why you wouldn't say anything. I kinda got the feeling that, now that he's seen me, he knows he's better off not knowing what's going on." Raphael said with a grin.

Later, while on the roof watching the stars with Leonardo, Raphael said, "It was worth getting in trouble with Splinter to see Maggie smile like that. She's glad that April will be in a position to take better care of us."

Leonardo laughed. "I'd think you'd be resentful that she would think we'd need taken care of."

"Not in Maggie's case," Raphael said with a laugh. "The first thing Maggie ever said to me was that she was our Aunt Margaret. She's a grandmother type. No matter how old you are, she's gonna take care of you." Then Raphael sighed. "I just wish we could take care of her."

"We are taking care of her," Leonardo said firmly. "Remember what you told Doctor Stern? We're helping her by allowing her to die by her rules. Look how happy and relaxed she is. It's the best thing we could possibly be doing for her."

Suddenly, and without understanding why he was doing so, Raphael said, "There is something else I have to do for her."

That puzzled Leonardo. "Raph?" He asked.

Raphael took in a deep breath. "When I went in with Maggie earlier, she asked me for a favor, a big one. I...I don't think I can do it on my own without help."

"Okay," Leonardo said evenly. "Tell me what you have to do."