Chapter 5-One Thing After Another
The family made it back to the lair without any complications or changes to Mikey's condition.
As soon as they landed, the group hurried out of the turtle copter and towards the infirmary whilst Leo and Casey carefully carried Mikey inside.
"Put him on the bed, quickly!" Donnie commanded as he and April prepared the medical equipment and monitors.
Leo and Casey did what Donnie told them to do and immediately placed the stretcher on the bed before Leatherhead helped Leo in carefully lifting Mikey off the stretcher, and Casey quickly slid it off the bed from underneath the youngest turtle's body. Leo and Leatherhead then gently laid Mikey onto the bed.
"Leatherhead, can you get the body scanner for me please?" Donnie asked whilst placing an oxygen mask on Mikey's face.
With a nod and a grunt, Leatherhead quickly went to grab the scanner and move it towards the bed before hovering the scanner head above Mikey's body.
"Stand back, everyone! I'm scanning Mikey now!" Donnie told the others before he pressed the button to start the scan.
The others stood away from the bed and waited anxiously from a distance to hear from the scan results, which came up on Donnie's computer a couple of minutes after the scanning was done. Donnie and Leatherhead took a look at them and their calm faces changed from calm to horrified in an instant.
"Oh, no…" Donnie breathed out in dread when he saw the bullet hole and a large shadow in Mikey's right lung.
"Grr! Those idiotic medics! They didn't take me seriously like they should have done!" Leatherhead roared out in rage.
"Leatherhead! Calm down! Mikey needs us to stay calm and focused!" Donnie cried out as he grabbed Leatherhead's arm to stop him from going into a frenzied rampage.
"What? What is it!?" Leo demanded with worry.
After taking a moment to settle his rage down, Leatherhead released a sigh before he spoke.
"The medics at Bishop's base didn't close the bullet hole in his lung properly, which is why he is constantly having a haemothorax!"
"In other words, there's continual bleeding present in his lung!" Donnie specified.
"T-Then what do we need to do to fix it!?" Leo then asked desperately.
"We will need to operate on his lung and close the bullet wound properly! Otherwise, the internal bleeding will never stop…!" Leatherhead announced.
"What!? But isn't that risky!?" Leo questioned, terrified at the thought of opening Mikey's lung up surgically.
"It does carry some risks, yes, but we don't have much of a choice here, Leo…! If we don't do something fast, Mikey will either lose a lung or lose his life altogether by bleeding to death!" Donnie answered firmly.
Everyone just stood in silence. Their minds were spinning with different choices and they didn't know what was for the best in terms of Mikey's chance of survival.
"Then I give you my consent to operate, my son…" Master Splinter suddenly said after a moment of silence.
"Father, are you sure?" Leo asked in concern.
"I have made my decision, Leonardo; I trust that Donatello, April, and Leatherhead will save Michelangelo…!" Master Splinter answered adamantly, leaving no room for arguments against his decision.
Although Leo mentally agreed with Master Splinter that Donnie, April, and Leatherhead had the right amount of expertise needed to fix up Mikey, he still felt unsure about the operation itself, so he turned to Raph for his opinion.
"Raph, what do you think?" Leo asked.
"…Do what ya want…" Raph answered flatly whilst looking away with a frown and narrowed eyes.
Leo glared at Raph for his attitude towards Mikey, but he would talk to him about that later. Right now, though, he himself needed to decide whether or not he should allow Mikey to be operated on.
However, what other choice did he have? Mikey was slowly fading away as the minutes ticked away and the only way to save him was through surgery, which could only be performed by those who are highly intelligent in the medical and scientific background, and they were Donnie, April, and Leatherhead.
"…Alright…let's do it…" Leo consented after letting out a defeated sigh, before he turned to Donnie and spoke to him in concern when he noticed how worn out he looked.
"Are you sure you'll be alright to operate on him, Donnie? You still don't look 100% well at the moment…"
"I have to do this, Leo! Mikey protected me and saved my life, so I need to repay him by saving his life!" Donnie answered with determination before he spoke of one more thing in protest.
"I will not allow this to become 'a life for a life' situation!"
Leo still didn't like this idea of letting his purple-banded brother take part in the operation, but he knew him long enough to know that once he made up his mind about something, he would not rest until he had accomplished it.
"Ok…just don't push yourself, alright? We just got you back after all…" Leo told him.
"Don't worry, I won't…Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a little brother to save…" Donnie replied with a determined look on his face before he walked back over to Mikey's bed to begin the preparations for the operation.
Leo watched him go before he looked at April and Leatherhead and spoke.
"Look after them both, you two…"
"We will, Leo…" April replied with a firm nod and soft smile.
"You can always count on us, my friend…" Leatherhead said next with a fist on his chest.
"Thank you…Now, get going; Mikey needs you too!" Leo commanded in a serious tone.
And with that, April and Leatherhead nodded before they hurried into the infirmary to begin the life-saving surgery that Mikey needed to pull through from his near-death experience.
/
2 hours later…
The atmosphere in the living room was quiet and tense.
Leo was sitting on the double-seated sofa with his head in his hands due to the increasing worry for his baby brother, who was still in the infirmary and being operated on. Master Splinter was sitting and meditating on the single sofa chair to keep his spiritual anxiety for his youngest son at bay, whilst Casey was pacing back and forth from behind the sofas after standing up from his place next to Leo half an hour ago to stretch his legs and keep his anger from boiling over from the stress of waiting for so long.
Then, the infirmary door opened and Donnie, April, and Leatherhead wearily walked out and approached the others in the living room. Leo, Master Splinter, and Casey immediately saw them and hurried over to them.
"Guys? Is Mikey ok?" Leo questioned nervously.
The trio looked at each other before Donnie stepped forward and spoke.
"The operation was successful…"
"Oh, thank shell…" "Phew…" "That is a relief…" Leo, Casey, and Master Splinter said after letting out sighs of relief.
"However, he is not out of the woods yet; he is still at risk of developing an infection overtime if his wounds are not properly cleaned and changed…" Leatherhead forewarned the trio.
"We are all still aware of that, Leatherhead…Thank you all for your hard work in stabilising Michelangelo…" Master Splinter replied in a grateful tone.
"So, what do we do now?" Leo questioned.
"The only thing we can do at the moment is monitor Mikey in case his condition changes out of nowhere during his recovery…" Donnie explained, crossing his arms whilst sighing.
"Alright, then we'll take shifts and then rotate every 2 hours for each person. Donnie will be exempt as he needs his rest. Is that ok with everyone?" Leo proposed in his leader voice.
"Leo, I'm fine, I don't-"
"You need to rest, Donnie…you're going to get a good night's sleep tonight, and that's final!" Leo cut off Donnie firmly, preventing an argument from breaking out.
Donnie looked down and let out a sigh of frustration before he felt a furry hand on his shoulder and heard Master Splinter's voice speaking to him.
"Your brother is only concern for your health and wellbeing, Donatello; you have just been brought back from a traumatic experience and you need to allow both your body and spirit to heal…Besides, how will you continue with helping Michelangelo if you continue to push yourself too much?"
After letting his sensei's words sink in for a moment, Donnie realised that he was right; he had hardly had a minute to rest since coming back home from Bishop's base and his body was still feeling achy and tired from the after-effects of being cured of his secondary mutation.
"…Alright, fine…but if anything changes-"
"We'll let you know straight away, Donnie, you have my word…In the meantime, get some rest; you need it…" Leo cut off Donnie's sentence in a reassuringly since he had a sense of what his brother was going to say.
Despite feeling a bit anxious still, Donnie decided to accept Leo's demand and head off to bed. He said his goodnights to everyone before he left the infirmary and made his way towards his bedroom to get some much-needed sleep.
"So, who's going to take first watch over Mikey?" April asked.
"I'll watch over him for the first 2 hours…" Leo volunteered before he looked over at Master Splinter.
"Will you be alright to take the next watch after me, Master Splinter?" He asked his father.
"I will be fine, my son…after all, April and Leatherhead will need more sleep after working hard with Donatello in saving Michelangelo…" Master Splinter added with a nod.
With everyone in agreement on the watch-over arrangements, Master Splinter, April, and Leatherhead left the infirmary to get some rest, whilst Leo took his place on the seat by Mikey's bedside to start his watch over him.
"Don't worry, little brother; we're all here…we'll help you get better, so stay strong…" Leo told his sleeping little brother softly before he gave him a soft kiss on his forehead and resume his position on his seat to resume his watch until it was time for him to switch with Master Splinter.
/
The next morning…
After his alarm went off, Leo rose slowly from his bed with a yawn and a stretch before he walked out of his bedroom to start his day. He had gone to bed a few hours earlier after he had finished his second shift of watching over Mikey and switched places with Master Splinter again.
As he past the living room, he saw April and Casey laid asleep next to each other on the couch, making him smile, before he sensed Donnie following him from behind.
"Hey, Donnie, how did you sleep?" Leo asked when he turned to look at the tired turtle.
"Not too bad…I woke up for a moment at some point after midnight, but I went back to sleep not long after that…" Donnie answered whilst rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Is it because you're worried about Mikey?" Leo questioned softly, his face saddening a bit.
"…Maybe…I just had this horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen to him…" Donnie answered worriedly.
"Hey, don't worry; Mikey's going to be fine, because we'll be there by his side to make sure that he gets better…!" Leo reassured as he placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder.
"It's not that I don't believe you, bro, it's just that…his wounds…they were so severe that not even a normal human being could've survived what Mikey went through…" Donnie said sadly, his heart starting to feel tight with anxiety.
"I know, but unlike a normal human being, Mikey's strong in both body and spirit! He might feel bad when he wakes up, but we'll be there to support him every step of the way like I said…!" Leo countered in determination.
Donnie took a moment to let those words sink in. He then sighed when he realised that Leo made a good point and that he should believe in Mikey like he was.
"Yeah…yeah, you're right…and when it comes to Mikey's emotional state, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it after he comes around a bit more…" He said with a nod, his anxiety now easing a bit.
"That's the spirit, Donnie! Now, let's go see our little brother…" Leo replied cheerfully, gently patting his brother on his shell-covered back.
And with that, Leo and Donnie made their way towards the infirmary to go and see how Mikey was doing.
/
The infirmary…
Leo and Donnie entered the infirmary where they saw Master Splinter by Mikey's bedside and holding his hand, whilst Leatherhead checked Mikey's temperature after assessing his vitals on the monitor.
"Morning, Leatherhead…How's Mikey doing?" Donnie asked.
"…" Leatherhead didn't answer him, which was unlike him.
"Leatherhead? What is it?" Donnie questioned with worry building up inside him when he didn't get a response from the big croc.
"Donatello, you may need to take a look at this…" Leatherhead said grimly as he showed Donnie the temperature on the thermometer, which showed 101.5 degrees on the screen.
"Oh, no…" Donnie whispered in despair when he saw it for himself.
"Donnie, what's wrong?" Leo asked with worry on his face when he heard Donnie's horrified tone.
"Mikey's come down with a burning fever!" Donnie announced in a slight panic.
"What!? How!?" Leo questioned in shock and confusion.
"I think the stress from leaving Agent Bishop's base with serious injuries combined with the long exposure to the filthy conditions in the sewers might have been the cause of his fever, because some of his wounds are showing signs of inflammation and infection…" Leatherhead explained sadly since Donnie was too upset to tell the others himself.
"Can we treat the infection and get his fever down, Leatherhead?" Master Splinter asked.
"Yes; I have the necessary antibiotics needed to treat him, but they are all back in my own lair…" Leatherhead answered, much to everyone's relief.
"Alright, then you go and get them while we keep an eye on Mikey…" Leo told the big croc.
"Very well, I will be right back…" Leatherhead replied before he hurried out of the Hamato family's lair to head for his own and retrieve the much needed antibiotics.
Shortly after seeing him leave and without saying a single word, Donnie made his way back into the infirmary to support and keep an eye on his little brother. Leo and Master Splinter watched him go before the blue-banded turtle and the old sensei decided to let April and Casey know about what happened before they all headed towards the infirmary to be by Mikey's side again.
Unbeknownst to them, Raph was watching everything from the shadows before he sighed in frustration and walked towards the garage to do some work on his motorbike and calm his nerves.
The infirmary…
Leo, April, Casey, and Master Splinter were standing next to Donnie, who was holding his little brother's hand and looking at him with a concerned expression on his face.
"Is there anything we can do to help, Donnie?" Leo asked softly after a moment of silence.
"Erm…The only thing that can be done until Leatherhead comes back is to try and ease his fever down a bit…" Donnie answered with anxiety still in his heart.
"Alright…We'll take care of it, bro; Master Splinter will go and get a flannel and I'll go get a bowl of cool water…You just take a break for a few minutes; you look tired…" Leo said reassuringly.
"Ok…Thanks, Leo…" Donnie replied with a thankful smile before he grabbed a chair, placed it next to Mikey's bed, and sat down on it.
"I'll go get ya some coffee, bud..." Casey offered kindly before he left the infirmary to go and make his purple-banded turtle friend some coffee to help him wake up a bit more.
"Where's Raph, by the way?" April asked when she noticed that the red-banded turtle was not in the room with them.
"I don't know, but I think he's gone into the garage to work on his bike; we all know that he always goes there whenever he's in a bad mood…" Leo guessed with a frustrated sigh.
"Well, we should leave him alone for the time being until he is ready to talk to us…for now, let us focus on making sure that Michelangelo is comfortable…" Master Splinter advised wisely.
"You're right, Master Splinter, let's get to it…!" Leo said with a nod before he and Master Splinter headed out of the infirmary to get the much needed flannel cloth and bowl of water for Mikey.
A short time later, the group was gathered around Mikey's bed and Donnie was dipping the flannel into the cool water and placing it on Mikey's head, causing the youngest turtle to release a small sigh of relief, but he didn't wake up.
"Does that feel better, Mikey? Hmm?" Donnie asked his little brother softly as he placed a gentle hand on Mikey's cheek.
Then, Mikey slowly turned his head and leaned against the touch of Donnie's hand before developing a small smile on his face. Even though Donnie was relieved to see Mikey looking a bit more comfortable, he saddened again when he didn't hear his usually talkative and fun-loving little brother say anything to him.
"Don't worry, Donnie; he'll get better with plenty of rest and care from all of us…" Leo reassured with a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"…Y-Yeah…" Donnie replied shakily with a nod.
"I am back, my friends…!" Leatherhead's voice was then heard by the doorway.
The group looked over to see the big croc approaching the bed with his box full of different medicines, much to their relief.
"The antibiotics I have brought can be given to Michelangelo through his IV bag, so we don't have to worry about injecting it into his skin with a separate syringe…" Leatherhead explained as he opened the box and sorted through his medicines to find the correct ones for Mikey.
"Good…We'll let you, April, and Donnie get right on that, while me, Casey, and Master Splinter go wait outside in the living room in case you need us…" Leo told the trio before he, Casey (after giving Donnie his coffee), and Master Splinter made their way out of the infirmary to give them space to do their work in treating Mikey.
As soon as they left the infirmary, Leo informed Casey and Master Splinter that he was going to go and find Raph to have talk with him and let him know about Mikey's current condition. Obviously, Master Splinter became concerned about the idea.
"I do not think now is the right time for you to speak with Raphael, my son; he is still in an unwilling mood to interact with anyone right now…" The old sensei warned Leo.
"Yeah, Man...I doubt dat Raph would wanna listen ta anythin' ya say, no matter what..." Casey said warily in agreement.
"I understand that you're worried, you two, but Raph needs to be informed about Mikey's condition sooner or later. I know that, deep down, Raph still cares about him and he's just as worried about him as us; he's just too stubborn and hot-headed to admit it to our faces…" Leo countered.
"…Very well, I will leave it to you to speak with your brother…just try not to turn it into another one of your 'brotherly' fights…" Master Splinter advised, still using his warning tone.
"I'm not making any promises that the talk will be peaceful, Master Splinter, but I'll do my best to keep it calm, for both Donnie's and Mikey's sakes…" Leo replied with a sigh.
All Master Splinter could do in response to his son's words was nod in silence before he walked away to go and meditate in his room to calm his spirit.
Leo could sense the worry and uncertainty in his father's heart, but he knew that there was nothing that could be done to change his mind since Raph needed to know about Mikey's current status, no matter what his reaction would be.
"If ya need me, Leo, I'll be on da couch listenin' out fer anyone who needs anythin' in da infirmary..." Casey told Leo, who nodded his thanks, before he left to head for the living room.
With his mind completely made up, Leo made his way over to the garage to have a talk with Raph, not knowing of what might happen next in doing so.
The garage…
"Raph? You still in here?" Leo questioned as soon as he entered the garage, which was almost completely dark if it wasn't for the small lights near where Raph was working.
"What da ya want, Fearless?" Raph questioned without turning his head around.
"Mikey has come down with a high fever due to infection, and he's being treated by Leatherhead, Donnie, and April right now to try and get it down…" Leo informed his brother, causing Raph to stop working on his bike.
"And? What's dat gotta do with me?" Raph questioned bluntly without any emotion. Those words stunned Leo before he started to get angry.
"Wha-? Raph, Mikey is our brother! He needs all of us to pull through this!" Leo told Raph in slight desperation.
"Not ta me, he don't…" Raph said gruffly, angering Leo even more.
"Go into the infirmary and go see him!" Leo commanded firmly in his leader voice.
"Me goin' in there won't change anythin', Leo…And it ain't gonna change my mind about Mikey, so just go away and leave me alone…" Raph told Leo stubbornly before he resumed his work on his motorbike.
That was the last straw for Leo. He could no longer keep his anger towards Raph at bay, and he stomped over to his immediate younger brother, grabbed him by the ridge of his shell, and roughly turned him around so that he was facing him.
"You need to stop being so stubborn, Raphael! I know that, deep down, you're worried about Mikey and that you still care about him! So, stop pretending like he doesn't exist here!" He shouted closely in his brother's face.
"I already told ya dat I'm done with him! If Mikey thinks dat protectin' Donnie from a bunch of bullets is gonna make me forgive him fer what he's done, then he's wrong!" Raph spat out bitterly.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Raphael!? Mikey. Is Not. To blame for Bishop's crimes! He never asked for any of this to happen to us, especially to Donnie!" Leo countered, now getting tired of repeating himself to Raph.
"And how many times have I told you dat I'm done with his constant screw-ups!? Sooner or later, Leo, he'll end up gettin' us all killed and buried into da ground!" Raph bit back accusingly.
Those were the wrong words to say to Leo, because…
BAM!
The next thing that Raph felt was a hard punch to the face, and he instantly fell and landed hard on the floor.
"You are an absolute disgrace! You don't deserve to be called a brother because of how you've treated Mikey!" Leo scolded, his face now seething.
Raph's anger was now on the verge of exploding. He stood back up and quickly struck Leo with an uppercut punch, making him stumble.
Then, just as the two older brothers were about to charge towards each other with fists at the ready…
"Leo! Raph! STOP IT!"
The familiar voice of their purple-banded brother was suddenly heard, and they were instantly met with his very presence as he stood in-between them whilst wearing an upset look on his face.
"Donnie…" Leo breathed out in shock and surprise when he saw his purple-banded brother standing in between him and Raph.
Raph just stood and looked at Donnie with a surprised expression on his face whilst he panted to get his breath back and calm his anger down.
"How could you be so selfish!? You're in complete denial, Raph! Mikey was never a villain in this; he was suffering too, and like the rest of you, there was nothing he could've done to stop me from getting infected and going through a secondary mutation!" Donnie scolded furiously.
Leo looked at Donnie in astonishment; he had never seen his purple-banded brother be so confrontational towards anyone before. Maybe this was an after-effect of his secondary mutation, it was hard to say at the moment. He then had flashbacks of Mikey; they included scenes of when he was next to Donnie and telling him how sorry he was for letting this horrible event happen to him, and when he almost completely sacrificed his life to protect Donnie by taking the multiple gunshots released by Agent Bishop's men back at his base. The blue-banded turtle closed his eyes and looked down in sadness after seeing those memories again.
"Yer kiddin', right? There were plenty of things dat Mikey could've done, but he never did a thing dat night! Also, da only person who was sufferin' through it all was you, Donnie!" Raph suddenly said snidely.
Both Donnie and Leo were stunned by those words, and it was about to go from bad to worse when Raph spoke again.
"Yer da only one who does somethin' ta keep dis family safe! Mikey does nothin' but risk gettin' us killed! We're better off without him, so stop feelin' sorry fer him and MOVE ON!"
That did it for Donnie. His heart was now shattered into tiny pieces and tears were developing and falling down his face, which now showed a very angry expression towards Raph.
Leo saw this, and he tried to comfort and reassure him whilst attempting to place a hand on his shoulder.
"Don, it's-"
"Don't touch me!" Donnie snapped at Leo, cutting off his sentence in the process, as he swatted his hand away before he looked at Raph again and spoke.
"How DARE you speak about Mikey in such a vile way! Mikey is the only little brother I've got! He might not be perfect, but guess what; neither are we, and he's still important to all of us! And now I'm scared that I'm going to lose him forever, because of YOU!"
Those last few words instantly stunned Raph to a point where his angry face dropped to a shocked one. He had never been scolded and accused of something so sinister in such a harsh way by Donnie, who had always been known as the gentle and level-headed one out of the four brothers.
Before he could say anything to respond or counter those words, Donnie released a sob and quickly stormed out.
"Donnie!" Leo cried out to try and stop Donnie, but the poor turtle was already out of the garage and too far away for Leo to call him back again.
Leo then turned to look at Raph with anger and disappointment on his face before he started walking away from him to leave the room. He was no longer in the mood to have another heated argument with him.
"What? Got nothin' else ta say ta me?" Raph questioned in a taunting way, making Leo stop by the doorway.
"I'm not saying anything more to you…in fact, I'm never speaking to you again until you sort your act out…" Leo answered flatly without looking back at him before he walked out of the door and left the garage altogether, leaving an even more shocked Raph alone in the garage.
/
30 minutes later…
After checking up on Donnie and calming him down, Leo decided to go to the infirmary with him and check on Mikey's status to see if the antibiotics that Leatherhead provided were working.
"How's Mikey doing, you two? Any progress?" Leo asked in a hopeful tone.
"Well, even though it has only been over an hour since I've administered the antibiotics into his system, Michelangelo's vitals are already showing signs of improvement…!" Leatherhead answered.
"Really!?" Leo and Donnie said in unison.
"Yes, but his fever still remains, though it's not as high as it was earlier…" April added.
Donnie moved closer to the bed and gently placed a hand on Mikey's forehead. It was then that he noticed the temperature of Mikey's fever was less warmer than it was when he first checked it earlier.
"April's right; Mikey doesn't feel as warm as he was earlier…!" Donnie announced.
"Oh, that's great…!" Leo said happily in relief.
"But we must remember, my friends; Michelangelo is not out of the woods yet as he is still in the early stages of recovery, and this still makes him vulnerable to many medical issues…"
"We understand that, Leatherhead, and we'll make sure that Mikey remains stable and infection free until he fully recovers…" Leo reassured his crocodile friend with Donnie and April nodding in agreement with him.
Now that there were some signs of improvement from Mikey, everyone could ease their worries and anxieties down a bit more. However, they all knew that the youngest turtle still had a long way to go until he was 100% recovered from his horrific injuries, and they couldn't forget the possible emotional wounds that he might suffer from as soon as he woke up.
With all of this mind, the group continued with their original plan of taking it in turns with watching over Mikey and making sure that he remains stable until the day came when he would wake up again.