Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Blinks) Wow, that was a lot shorter than last time, huh:D
Anywho, renewed thanks to those who continue to review, especially to those who R&R each chapter. You guys rock!
Also, seeing as how I'm beginning to realize just how much of a commitment it is to start a story and update it consistently, I would like to take a moment to thank all my favorite authors out there for the hard work that they do. I really appreciate reading your stories, and thank you for making an effort to share your work with others. (I'd list all my favorite stories, but it would take way too long. :D) And to all the other readers out there, the next time you read a story that either makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you think, or does all three, leave even just a small "thank you" to let that author know that their work is appreciated. To all my favorite authors: thank you for your great stories. (And no, this isn't me trying to guilt people into reviewing; it's just that it's Friday, so I'm in a generous mood, and I'm taking the time to try and spread some happiness and such.)
Now enough with the mushy stuff, let's move on to the next chapter:D This one won't be as bloody as the last one, and it'll have more story-ish type stuff in it; you know, dialogue and plot happenings…Bah, just read it. :b
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The door to April's apartment burst open as she rushed inside, turning on lights and moving things out of the way. She was quickly followed by Don and Raph bearing Leo, then Mikey and Casey, who led Iganna to a chair in the kitchen. Don and Raph set Leo down on the floor, with his head propped up on Raph's legs. Don continued to tend to Leo, checking his pulse and breathing, and after checking on the bleeding from his wound, reapplying pressure to it. While he did so, he continued his list of instructions.
"Mikey, see what you can make in the kitchen. If she can, I'd like Iganna to try and get something down. She'll need something in her stomach to replace the blood that she's lost."
The woman in question protested softly, the lilt of an accent apparent in her voice, "Really, that is unnecessary. I am fine, and I do not feel like eating at the moment. Please, tend to your brother; he is in greater need of your care than I am."
Don glanced at her, grateful for her concern. "Alright, but do you think you could manage some tea?" At her nod, he gave a tired smile. "Good. Mikey, whip up a pot if you could. And I'd like you to check Iganna's bandages again too, please."
"I'm on it, bro."
"April," Don said, turning his attention again to his oldest brother. "Do you have a portable table and some blankets?"
April looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I do. There's a fairly good sized one from a garage sale I had one time. And I've got spare blankets too, in case of company."
"Good. Can you tell Casey where they are so he can get them? I'll need your help for something else in a minute."
"Sure." Turning to the vigilante, she said, "The table and blankets are both in the hallway closet. Don't break anything."
Cringing, Casey went to do as he was told, mumbling under his breath. "Geez, can't a fellah get a break around here?"
"Next order of business: April, is your bathroom available? I mean, would we have the space to set up the table in there?"
"Sure Donnie; but what for?"
Glancing down at Leo, Don swallowed hard. "Because we're going to need to operate." Looking up at his family and friends with pain in his eyes, he explained. "The bullet's still in him. If I don't get it out, I can't accurately assess the damage and patch him up."
April paled slightly, but her face took on a determined look. "I'll go get everything set up." Intercepting Casey, she directed him to the bathroom, and the others could hear them preparing. A few minutes later, April returned to the living room. "We're ready, Don."
The purple-banded turtle looked up to meet Raph's gaze. "I need you to help me get him into the bathroom, Raph."
"You got it, Donnie."
The turtles carefully made their way into the bathroom and set Leo down on the table. As Raph turned to go, Don followed him into the hall and grabbed his arm. "Raph? One more thing."
"Just name it, Don."
"Go sit with Mikey. He's held it together remarkably well so far, but I don't think he's taking this well."
"Don't worry 'bout it. I'll watch after 'im." Pausing on his way out, Raph turned back to his younger brother. "Will…will Leo be alright?"
"I don't know yet, Raph. I'll do what I can, but…I don't know."
Thumping the brainy turtle on the back, Raph went to go find Mikey. "That's all we can ask, bro."
As Raph's shell retreated down the hall, Don gave a sigh and whispered softly to himself. "But you still expect miracles. All of you do." Looking back at the room that held his wounded brother, he continued in a tone tinged with heartbreak. "And I don't know if I can give you one this time…"
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When Don returned to the bathroom, he found that April was already prepared; she had washed up, and had her hair pulled back, and was wearing an old shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He also noticed that she had the first aid kit, extra supplies and some tools already laid out. Don quickly followed her example, lathering up his hands and forearms and vigorously scrubbing. Once he finished, he took his place beside Leo. April waited on the other side of the table, ready for whatever he asked. Glancing up at her, he flashed her a grateful smile.
"Thanks for everything, April. I don't know what we'd do without you."
"We haven't even started yet, Don; you can thank me later," April said. Returning the smile, she continued. "Besides, I'm sure you'd be fine even if I wasn't here."
Don shook his head. "I honestly doubt that, April." He set to work removing the blood-encrusted pads from Leo's plastron, as well as the now rust-colored sword strap that had been securing them. "Are the tools all sterilized?"
"Absolutely. I ran them all under steaming water for five minutes, and then dried them and cleaned them off with alcohol."
"Excellent. How about the penicillin and the morphine?"
April held up two syringes. "Check, and check." Before handing him the syringes containing the medicines, she looked up at Don. "Just so you know, Don, I filled these according to human standards. I don't know if the measurements are right for turt-um, you guys."
Taking the syringes from April, Don shook his head in admiration. "Ms. O'Neil, you never cease to amaze." He grinned as she blushed and waved aside the compliment. "And don't worry, this is perfect. I've studied all of our genetic and physical make-ups thoroughly; we're close enough to the qualifications of human anatomy that it'll be fine." Tilting Leo's head to the side, he carefully injected the penicillin, emptying it into his brother's bloodstream, quickly followed by the morphine. He then set aside the empty syringes and used pads. After a deep breath, he met April's gaze. "Okay, here we go. You ready?"
April looked down at Leo and gently rested a hand on his head. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said softly.
The purple-banded turtle reached across the table and squeezed her wrist. "I know how you feel, but the sooner we get this done, the better."
Composing herself, April gave a curt nod. "Let's do this."
Don grabbed a washcloth and dampened it, then carefully began cleaning off the blood that had clotted over Leo's wound. As soon as he removed the last of the clotting, blood began to seep out again rapidly.
"Aw, shell," Don swore. He snatched up a fresh washcloth, renewing pressure on the injury. Without looking up from his work, he directed a question at April. "Have you got a knife and some forceps in your bag of tricks?"
"You betcha." April fetched the forceps, then went in search of the knife. "But, Don…what's the knife for? Don't we just need to remove the bullet?"
"I wish it were that easy, April. But-," He lifted up the washcloth to show April the entry point. "The bullet didn't go in straight; it went in at an angle." He checked the state of the bleeding and, satisfied with its waning, he wiped away the newest accumulation and set aside the washcloth. "Knife?"
"Right here," April said, handing him the tool carefully.
Don took a deep breath and offered up a silent prayer: "To whatever gods there are for teenage mutant ninja turtles, please don't let me mess this up." He then set the knife to Leo's plastron…and froze.
Oh my god…what am I doing? Don screamed at himself silently, sweat rolling down his face though he shook with cold chills. I'm about to cut Leo open! I'm not a surgeon, I'm an engineer. What if I get it wrong? What if I kill him!
"…on. Don. DONNIE. DONATELLO!" The yell jerked him back to his senses. He looked up, realizing that April had been shouting his name. Don looked back down at Leo, at his hand holding the knife, and then back up at April again. Turning haunted eyes on her, he shook his head and dropped his hand.
"I can't do this, April," he whispered.
"What do you mean you can't do this? Don, you have to do this!"
I can't, April! Do you know what I'm doing? I'm about to cut open my own brother! And I'm not a doctor, I'm a turtle! I have no experience with this! I've set bones, relocated shoulders, sewn up cuts, and bandaged everything from burns to bruises. But I've never done this before; WHAT IF I KILL HIM!"
"Donatello, you listen to me and you listen good," April said firmly, fire in her eyes. "You are standing there beside your brother trying to save his life. That knife in your hand? You're about to use it to remove the bullet that is killing him." Holding up her hand as Don started shaking his head violently and opened his mouth to protest, she continued. "No, I'm not finished. Don, no one expects you to be perfect. You're the best your family has, and they're counting on you. Leo is counting on you. And do you know why they're expecting you to save Leo? Do you?" As Don paused, then shook his head again, April lifted his chin to meet his gaze. "Because you've never let them down."
Don froze again. He turned the statement over in his mind, and realized, to his amazement, that April was right.
"That's why they have faith in you, because you've never failed before. And even if you fail now, they won't blame you, because they always trust you to do whatever you can. You're their best hope, and the reason they always come to you is because they know you're there for them and that you will do your best to help them." Gently picking up Don's wrist, she set it back on Leo's plastron. "Prove them right again, Donnie. Save your brother's life."
The turtle grabbed April's hand and pressed a thankful kiss to the back of it before whispering a heartfelt "Thank you." He then returned his attention to Leo, and gathering all of his courage, sunk the blade into Leo's plastron.
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(A/N: Wouldn't you all have hated me if I left it at that:D)
Despite April's words, despite his own awareness of the necessity of this action, Don was convinced that the feeling of the knife slicing into Leo was not one he would soon, or ever, forget. But even as the blood welled up and he cringed, April was there, dabbing away the liquid and whispering encouragement. When Don felt the tip of the knife connect with something, he careful removed the blade. Setting the knife aside gratefully, he looked up at April. "Forceps?"
She handed them to him, giving his hand an extra squeeze. "You're doing wonderfully, Donnie. We're halfway there."
Don nodded and swallowed hard. He then went to remove the bullet, but the feeling of his brother's flesh parting under the forceps drove him to the toilet as he brought up everything he'd eaten recently. As he continued to retch, he felt a calming hand on his shell.
"Donnie, it's alright. It's almost over."
"It's too much, April. It…I can't…I just can't."
April handed him a clean washcloth to wipe his mouth with and hardened her voice as she hauled him up from the floor. "Donatello, pull yourself together. I know that this is unbelievably hard for you. But it's halfway done. You have to be strong just a little longer; for Leo. Then I promise, you can vomit till you turn green…er." An encouraging smile on her face, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and led him gently back over to the table.
Don grabbed the forceps and prepared himself again. The second time was no better than the first, the bile still rising in his throat; but he wasn't sick again. Though, he mused darkly to himself, that's probably because I have nothing left to bring up. Maneuvering the implements carefully, he reached the bullet and quickly removed it. Staring at the small piece of metal in front of him, he wondered how something so small could cause so much damage. In the next instant he hurled the bullet away from him, sending it flying into the trash can. Don turned back to see April holding a compress to the wound. She flashed him a tired smile, and quipped softly, "Congratulations, 'Doctor' Don."
The turtle smiled back with all the thanks he could. "Thank you, Nurse April." Don frowned then at the pallor of Leo's skin. "The blood loss must be getting to his system; I'm gonna go get a transfusion from Raph, since he's the only one compatible with Leo. Do you have any spare syringes?"
April nodded to the sink. "There's some fresh ones there on the counter. I'll get him bandaged up."
Don grabbed one and made his way into the living room. As soon as he set foot in the room, four heads jerked up at the sight of him. Looking down at himself, he realized he was still covered in blood, and probably looked like road kill warmed over. Part of his mind clamored that this was all so wrong, but he shushed that part absently. I'll freak out and break down later, he thought numbly. Don't have time to right now.
"Donnie? Is he-?"
Don interrupted tersely. "He's fine. I'll fill you in later."
"But what happened? Is-"
Don ignored the question and made his way over to Raph, holding up the needle. "I need some blood from you, Raph."
His older brother swallowed hard at the sight of the needle, but sat down and bared his arms, a determined glint in his eyes. "Pick a vein, bro."
The brainy turtle expertly drew the blood, then covered the vein with a Band-aid. "Thanks," he said, then turned to leave.
Raph jumped up and grabbed Don's arm, swaying slightly as he did so. "Where do ya think you're goin', Donnie? Ain't ya goin' to tell us about Leo!"
Don shook off Raph's hand and kept walking. "Not right now."
"What'dya mean, 'not right now'! Don, you tell us or I'll-"
His younger brother whipped around, his stony face mirrored by the cold, blank look in his eyes. "I'm only saying this one more time, Raph. NOT. RIGHT. NOW."
Don then left the room, leaving two very indignant turtles and two very confused humans behind.
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Ten minutes later, Raph met Don in the hall before he took two steps out of the "operating room."
"How is he, Donnie? How's Leo?"
Don sighed, exhaustion and strain covering his features. "He's as good as can be expected right now, Raph. We were able to get the bullet out, and he's bandaged up. The bleeding's mostly stopped, but he just lost so much. The transfusion helped, but the most that can be said is that he's out of danger for now. I've done all I can; it's up to him now." Rubbing his face with the back of one hand, he asked wearily, "How's Mikey?"
Raph seemed unsatisfied with the diagnosis, but he glanced back at the kitchen and answered with a sigh of his own. "He…he ain't doin' that good, bro. He's holdin' it tagether, but I can tell he's worried. An' scared." Shifting his gaze to the side, Raph rubbed one of his arms as he added gruffly, "So'm I fer dat matter." As he focused on Don again, he asked cautiously, "And what about you, bro? How are you doin'?"
Don was about to give his standard reply, but couldn't do it; it was all too much. He instead gave a shaky laugh. "Me? How am I doing?" He laughed harder, a slight note of hysteria creeping into his voice. "I'm doing fine! Just fine! Why wouldn't I be!" Desperation filled his tone as tears started rolling down his face. "I'm not doing fine, Raph, I just cut open my oldest brother. I just took a knife to one of my own family!" Glancing down at himself, he continued as shaking racked his body. "And I'm…I'm covered in Leo's blood…Oh, god. God, Raph, there's just so much blood…so much blood." Don choked on the words as he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.
Raph was frozen in place. He had never seen Don lose his cool like this. In every situation, Don was always the one to keep a level head; even when Leo snapped (which was rare) Don held it together. Seeing him falling apart like this worried Raph almost more than Leo's condition did. Gathering his brother in a gentle hug, he rubbed his shell.
"Don…Donnie, man. Look bro, don't cry. It'll be fine; like I said earlier, Leo'll pull through. Ya did everything ya could, bro; it'll be fine."
"But what if it's not enough?" Don asked brokenly. "Everyone always expects me to be able to fix everybody up; whenever someone's hurt, it's always 'just ask Don, he'll bandage it up, give some scientific or medical explanation, and everything will be fine'. But I'm not a doctor, Raph. I'm an engineer! My strength is machines, not people."
Raph pulled back to look at his younger brother. Staring into his eyes, Raph saw clearly the worry Don had always carried, but that no one had ever noticed. Raph, like his brothers, had never realized the burden Don had to bear as the "medic" of the team. When he thought about it, it made sense to him now why Don and Leo always got along so well; the both carried such large responsibilities in their family. Leo was the leader and was responsible for keeping his brothers out of harm; but when they did get hurt, it was always Don who was expected to make things right. Raph felt a sudden surge of anger; what right did he and the others have to expect so much from their brothers? He shook his head mentally and pulled his brother back into a hug.
Don leaned into the embrace, desperately needing the comforting. As his sobs gradually slowed, he heard a soft voice say something that nearly knocked him over.
"I'm sorry, Donnie."
This time it was Don that pulled back, blinking as he did so. "Say what?"
Raph met his gaze seriously. "I said I'm sorry, bro. We've got no right expectin' you ta be able ta fix everythin'. I promise we'll be better about it from now on. An' I swear, Donnie, none of us'll evah blame ya if Leo doesn't pull through dis." Seeing Don open his mouth, Raph cut him off. "I'm not sayin' he won't make it, 'cuz he will, or else he'll be answerin' ta me. But I'm serious, Donnie. We'll ease up on ya."
Sniffing and wiping his eyes, Don gave a teary smile. "Thanks Raph. I know that you guys don't mean to push, it just gets hard sometimes. But I wouldn't trade being needed by you guys for anything."
Thumping Don on the shell, Raph smiled back. "An' we wouldn't trade ya either, brainiack. Now come on, let's get ya cleaned up."
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A/N: And another one bites the dust! And it's the longest one yet! Speaking of which, I've got some questions for you guys. How are the chapters, especially this one? Is it too long? Am I writing a bunch, but not really moving the story along enough? I know everyone likes long chapters, but I'm not sure if I'm having enough happen in each chapter. I was thinking about continuing the chapter after Don and Raph's confrontation, but I figured you guys would be alright with it as is, especially since it's not a cliffhanger. Now I'm wondering if I'm making the chapters not long enough and not getting anywhere, or too long and trying to cram too much in. (Is there such a thing as a too long chapter:D) Please let me know what you think; I'd really appreciate the input.
This chapter was a lot more emotionally-fixated than action-fixated, but I still think it's important. This is kind of how I think the turtles would react under this kind of situation, especially Don, if he'd finally had more than he could take. And we see the (slightly) softer side of our favorite red-banded turtle too. Always a treat. :D I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And as always, hideous amounts of gratitude to everyone who's R&R'd "Bleeding Heart" so far; heck, thanks to those of you who just read it. Please keep 'em coming, and I'll do my best to do the same with the chapters.
And I absolutely PROMISE the next chapter will have more happen. There will actually be some action, and things will move along. I've been looking at how much I've written so far, and I'm thinking 'Dang. That's IT! All that's happened is they went on patrol, met Iganna, Leo got shot, and they're at April's place! WTF? Why am I so slow!' But then I look at it, and I think it's alright, because the story wouldn't be as good if it just rushed right through everything. But I'm still going to pick things up a bit, 'cause I'm getting tired of nothing happening in these chapters.
Anywho, R&R, but do not flame, please! Adios!
