Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N: Hello! Sorry it took so long to update. My excuses are that I'm so incredibly TIRED all the time (I blame it on the pregnancy) and that we are having a major baby boom at work. All day I'm recovering babies, doing vital signs, changing diapers, helping with circumcisions you name it! No time to sit at the computer, but that's all right. Well, at least I managed to squeeze this chapter out somehow!

Chapter 6

Dream

Don asked Splinter for permission to go topside. Once he heard the reason he readily agreed. "Travel safely, my son. Be sure that you are not seen when you scout for the medical and mechanical supplies that you tell me are needed."

He grinned. "Oh, don't worry Sensei! I'm ninja!" Turning to me he gave me a 'thumbs up' before rushing to his room to gather some needed gear. "Maybe I can let the professor know to be on the lookout for any supplies that I don't come across!"

"And please, be careful! You know how nervous I get when you must go to the hospitals..."

"Sure, Sensei!" He yelled from his room.

I looked after him, worried. Somehow this didn't sit right. And it wasn't just the stealing part.

The young orange banded turtle seemed to read my mind. "Don't worry, he always looks through the hospital's trash before resorting to stealing anything. Even then, just like the medical supplies that we have here; he'll always look for one that has 'extra' of whatever he needs before sneaking it out."

I nodded my head. As much as my gut may go against it, they must steal in order to get some basic supplies. I can't see someone throwing out perfectly good medicine or sterile supplies. I know for sure they wouldn't throw out unopened packages of needles.

He came out of his room with a backpack, an empty burlap bag and extremely thick rubber globes. I scratched my head. "What are those for?"

"Oh, these?" He held up his gloves. "That's for looking through the trash. They're in case someone threw away a used needle. Can never be too careful!" With that he skittered to the other side of the Lair, reaching for his shell cell to call his friend April.

At least he was smart enough to bring the gloves. Especially in the past, medical care workers and cleaners were among the highest HIV and other disease carriers. This was simply because they would accidently prick themselves with a used needle when changing the trash, throwing something away, or even right after treating a patient; pricking themselves by accident. To help preven this, special Sharps containers were created for used needles or anything else with a sharp edge. Needles were equipped with special 'covers' or 'guards' so that right after using a clean one on a patient you could cover up the hazardous point before accidently pricking yourself. If you were somehow pricked anyway, then it was common practice to obtain a blood sample from the patient (if known) and of course yourself and tested for all transmittable diseases. The pain came if you didn't know who the patient was, then you went through many blood tests over the course of many years waiting to see if some disease would pop up.

Damn I should really stop rambling like that.

Michelangelo was apparently in a talkative mood. I don't know if he always does this, or if he's just taking advantage of my ignorance as 'the new guy' and taking my ear off. Either way, this in particular was interesting. He began to tell me how they met April, the first human they had contact with, and the first that they brought to the Lair. I smiled at the part where she screamed, then fainted at the sight of Splinter. Apparently he has that sort of reaction on most people.

Not Casey, apparently. It seems the first time that he met Splinter, the old rat drop kicked him and pinned him down with his walking stick. That sounds pretty funny, considering how the guy is described to be more than twice the height of the rat.

It amazed me that they had other people that they could count on, it also gladdened me. For the very same reason. From what he was telling me, getting supplies was much easier, plus human contact seemed to be something that they prized. That wasn't surprising considering how most humans react to them, it's probably a blessing to find one that doesn't smack you with her purse! And lastly, it was the simple friendship aspect. Understandably they don't make many friends, being who they are and all. That must be why they accepted me so readily. Leonardo might still distrust me slightly, but that was only because of my potential for endangering his family. Even then I was grateful for this. They cared, worried about, and protected each other. They were a family.

Don rushed past us, waved good-bye and headed out to the elevator while dialing someone on his cellular tellephone (shell cell?). Mikey claimed that it was April. Apparently Casey was too bumbling to be counted on discreet stuff like this, in fact they weren't even sure that the guy knew the meaning of the word 'discretion.' I was interested in meeting these people.

It was getting late, or at least that was what my sore muscles, bruises, and aching stump was telling me. I told the guys that I was going to hit the sack. I had to refuse about ten million offers of assistance, and I did it as politely as I could. Despite the multitude, they didn't push or shove like others do. I've turned down offers of assistance from other people before, and they seem to take it as a sign that I'm too handicapped to comprehend that I mean what I say and move to help me anyway. I usually end up accidently hurting their feelings then, it's not like I mean to or anything but it really irritates me when people don't listen to what I say just becuase I'm 'wounded.' It's not like I'm dragging myself around moaning a 'poor me' song all day or something.

I managed to reach the door to my renovated room without falling. I peeked behind me and couldn't help but quirk a small smile at the turtles. They seemed to be physically restraining themselves from helping me. They looked so tense, but I really respected that despite that they let me do it myself. I don't know why it's such a big deal, maybe if you ever end up in a similar situation and happen to be the independent type you'll understand.

I nudged the door open with my shoulder and practically fell into bed. I hit the compressed mattress with a loud 'whuff!' and managed not to groan. Immediately every bruised and battered cell in my body began to complain loudly, I bit my tongue again to stiffle another moan. I must have gotten my foot caught behind my crutch, not the first time that it's happened. Pretty darn irritating.

I must have been pretty pooped, though. I hardly had time to roll both crutches off the mattress and scoot all the way on again and I was asleep.

I flipped three aces down on the deck. The three other soldiers that were playing with me glared at me as I grinned. This is one reason why I love to play rummy so much, I always seem to be lucky with the cards!

My lifelong friend, John, grinned with me and set down a suite of diamonds, king all the way to a 3. Trust him to try to best me, the punk!

The other player started to play his hand. The wind rustled. I had only been here a few weeks and I was already getting used to the sand everywhere. I was still slightly irritated about my nose being clogged and dry and the sand in my eyes, though. The heavy material that made up are tent flapped slightly. I took a moment to try to soak in what wind I could. After today, the wind was a blessing.I wasn't used to this kind of weather, desert weather. Blistering hot in the daytime, then the temperature drops like no other during the night. It wasn't quite night yet, but nor was it day. So basically, the weather was perfect to take a few moments to relax.

Boom!

John and I perked up in our seats at the sound of the explosion. Our other two players, already veterans (for one, it was his thrid deployment) chuckled at us. "What you getting all hopped up for? That one wasn't anywhere near us!" They grinned at themselves and calmly set some cards down.

My turn. I'll admit I was nervous about the mortar rounds in the distance but I didn't want to seem all nervous when these guys obviously didn't mind. I hastily put down a card.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once again John and I hopped in our seats and once again the two vets laughed. Slightly irritated, I glared at my cards. "Those weren't anywhere near us either boys!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!...BOOM!

John and I actually managed to not jump out of our seats, but we wished we did when we saw the two other players nervously glance at the direction of the mortar rounds. "Alright, guys, that one was just a bit closer. Maybe the others will be further away..."

Boom! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!

Immediately the other two stood up in their chairs, the cheap metal scrapling agains the sand. "Alright, boys, maybe now we should skeedaddle!" We followed them hurriedly as another deafening explosion came even closer. The tent shook and sand sprinkled down upon our heads.

This was my first mortar round. It wasn't too bad, considering what I saw elswhere. After all, nearly everyone says that the two worst places to be during war is in the front line and in the medical tent. Especially the medical personnell. You are garunteed to see death, pain, and things that will haunt you forever. I remember hearing that in class, but this is the first time I saw it, overseas.

Suddenly images flashed throuh my mind. People with hamburger meat for limbs. People screaming in pain as we frantically tried to calm them enough to treat them. A couple of times we had to restrain the frantic victims. Children came in too. That was hard. Innocents. Civilians. Hurt both by our fire and the fire of their own people. The smell of death. When a person died, all muscles relaxed. Including the sphincters holding in your feces and urine. Sometimes I thought that it was God's sick joke to have us do this indignity the moment we pass.There actually is a light in people's eye's, you know. I've seen it. One moment their eyes are alive, the next moment they are glassy, dull, lifeless.

My mind flashed to John's eyes as we were suspended upside down in the truck. He looked towards me, but he couldn't look at me. He couldn't look at anything anymore, and it was all my fault. I shouldn't have hit it, I should have seen it before it hit me. I should have...

"Joe! Joe! Hey Joe! Wake up!"

My sleep was shattered as Mikey shook me awake, pretty darn roughly. All the multitude of wounds screamed at his handling. I ground my teeth and was about to say something dirty at him but the next thing he said cleared my mind completely.

"Joe! Donny's gone! He never came back!"

A/N: Hope that you liked this chapter. I actually had free time at work. This is the second weekend in a row that I'm working, and let me tell you it isn't fun! Twelve hour shifts have their good points but at this time I really think that they suck.

Alrighty. The mortar round story, completely true. From someone that I know very closely. All the talk after that, all true and bits and peices from everywhere. That part about the light in the eyes is true as well, I've seen it go myself. It hit's you real hard the first time that you see it, that's all I'll say about that.

Remember, if you read it, review it!

Toodles!