"Leo how is he?" Raph asked from over in the pit where he was watching TV. with his brother and Casey.
"From what I saw I think he's still fine, but I didn't check much. April was asleep by his bed again and I didn't want to wake her."
It was then that Casey spoke up. "Guys, I know he's her best friend and all but Donnie's been unconscious for three and a half months!" With a sad expression on his face Casey then turned his head to look up at Leo. "That's longer then you were out cold at April's farm house after the Shredder attacked you Leo. She's been skipping a lot of school. This can't be good for her. Just sitting in his room holding his hand all day."
"I know Casey, she misses him... we all do" Leo said with a sad smile as he looked down at the floor.
"Everything's going to be okay Jones" Karai ushered him as she walked by the pit holding fresh bandages and some antiseptic spry. She was heading to Donnie's room to help April clean and wrap his injured shoulder again. Kirby had been down almost everyday to check on Don, and after all this time his shoulder was the only thing on his body that really needed to finish healing. "April will feel better after Donatello wakes up."
"Yeah but when? It's been like three and a half months Karai!""
Just then a loud yell was heard coming from Donnie's bedroom. "LEO, RAPH, MIKEY! KARAI, CASEY, SENSIE! COME QUICKLY! HE'S UP, DONNIE'S FINALLY AWAKE!"
And with that, five overly excited teens instantly took off running as fast as they could to get to Donnie's room.
"Uhh...uh.." Donnie moaned out. The first thing he felt as his eyes fluttered open was a delicate pressure on his right hand. It was someone else's hand wrapped around his own, that he knew for sure. This hand was one he had been given the honor to hold only a couple of times in his life. It had long and dainty fingers that span five digits wide across the palm.
Donatello was elated to find that his suspicion was right. For when he turned his head to the right he was instantly met with the gorgeous blue eyes of his long time best friend and secret crush. Tears streamed down her face as she shot up out of her chair and yelled for Casey and his family.
"LEO, RAPH, MIKEY! KARAI, CASEY, SENSEI! COME QUICKLY! HE'S UP, DONNIE'S FINALLY AWAKE!"
What Donatello heard next sounded to him like a herd of wild buffalo running down the hallway and storming into his room as Raph nearly broke the door off of its hinges.
Mikey was the first one by his side as he through his arms around Don's neck in a tight, airway crushing hug.
"Ugh.. Mikey... that hurts..easy little brother...I missed you too" Donnie choked out while patting his baby brothers carapace with his uninjured arm.
"Wow Mikey take it easy there bud" Leo lightly scolded as Raph and Casey pulled him off from around Donnie's neck.
"My son how are you?" Master Splinter asked as he stepped into the room with a smile on his face.
"Uh I think I'm okay. Nothing hurts like it did. In fact, considering he circumstances of what happened I feel great! How long was I out?"
That was it the dreaded question that non of them wanted to answer right away. Everyone knew Donnie would freak out about being unconscious for so long, and no one wanted the burden of telling him. The happy expression on Don's face went from a smile to a frown instantly as he saw the looks on his family faces fall. "Guys how long?" he continued to push.
Flustered from not getting an answer Donnie tried to sit up and immediately regretted it as black spots clouded his vision and fiery pain shot from inside his shoulder. Donatello let out a pained groan as April's delicate hands came to rest on the front of his plastron and gently pushed him back down into the pillows of his purple sheeted bed. "Shhh Donnie" she cooed in his ear. "Don't move, you're still hurt. There's no need to get up right now."
"Most of your injuries are fully healed now Don." Karai stated from over in the corner still holding the fresh bandages and antiseptic spray. "I was actually coming to help April change the bandages on your shoulder again. You're awake now but would you mind if we did anyway?" she asked him. "It's been a bit."
Donnie smiled at her and then gave his consent. "No I don't mind."
His brothers helped him sit up a bit and then propped him up with pillows as the girls made quick work of unwrapping Donnie's injured arm. First they took his arm out of its sling. Then April held Don's arm still while Karai began to remove the old bandages. As she did Donnie took a deep breath, braced himself for what he might see, and turned his head to look at his arm. What he did see disturbed him deeply. There was a big, knotted, pink scar right in the center of his shoulder where it had been stabbed clean through. Not to mention the huge, long, jagged, pink scars that ran from his shoulder all the way down to his wrist. But just when he thought it couldn't look any worse then it did, Karai finished removing the bandages from around his wrist. Donatello almost threw up at what he saw next and he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten about the thing that had angered him the most out of his endeavor. There on his wrists was the perfectly scarred over Foot insignia that had been burned into his mutant green flesh with hot metal.
Donatello let out a choking cough, but Raphael quick on his feet, grabbed the trashcan by Donnie's bed and held it under his chin as Don immediately emptied the contents of his stomach into it. Which at this point was little more then a bit of watery clear flem. Master Splinter was by his sons side in an instant, rubbing soothing circles on his son's carapace as he continued to empty what little his stomach held into the trash.
"I'm afraid your shoulder took the worst of your beatings Donatello" his father stated sadly. "The outside looks rough but the inside was torn apart almost completely... It's going to take a lot longer then three and a half months for that one to heal right. Kirby and I think that with some time and some physical therapy from me and Leonardo, you may be able to move it up and down again a little bit, but we're still not sure if you'll have full range of it ever again my son... I'm so sorry but there was nothing more we could do... I'm just glad you're alive."
"Sensei, I'm a ninja! How am I going to fight with my staff one handed?!" Donnie said with a worried expression.
"Relax Donnie, I'm sure everything will be fine. I got over my leg injury" Leo said with a small smile trying to reassure him.
"Yours was different Leo, that's not exactly how this one works" Donnie said tiredly while looking down at the bed in defeat.
"I'm sorry Donatello" Karai said as she finished placing his arm back in its sling. He winced as she moved it again and then looked back up at her only to see a heart broken expression on her face.
"But don't worry about it right now D" April said with a big smile as she placed both of her small hands on Donnie's good arm and began to gently massage it for him. "Right now we just need to get your strength back up so we can get you walking again!"
"Yeah that sounds good" Donnie said sporting a tired grin. "Can we maybe start that now?"
"Wow easy there tiger" Raphael said jokingly. "You just woke up. I tell you what, take one more day to rest so we can text Mr. O'Neil and have him bring some crutches by here tomorrow morning when he comes to check on you again. You'll need them if your going to try to stand on your own after all this time."
"Mr. O'Neil is coming down here tomorrow?" Donnie asked with a questioning look on his face.
"He helped us patch you up when we finally got you back home Donnie!" Mikey said happily. "And he's been coming down here to check on you every day since then too!"
"Oh wow! That's nice of him" Don said with a smile.
"And its because his daughter hasn't left your side for more then an hour at a time since you've been hurt!" Casey grumbled from behind Raph's shoulder. Raphael immediately turned around and hit Casey hard in the arm while April shot him a death glare.
"April, is that true?" Donnie asked while turning his head to look at her.
"Yes Donnie... it is" April said teary eyed and about to cry. "We weren't entirely sure if you were going to make it or not... I mean, your heart stopped four different times while you were unconscious...and your fever was so high... I thought for sure that if I was gone for too long then you wouldn't still be here when I got back." April was in pure tears now, and Donnie completely ignoring the black spots that appeared in his vision, sat up and immediately put his good arm around Aprils waist and lightly tugged her body closer to his bed as best he could manage and laid his tired head against her stomach.
"Shhhh April, I'm here, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere ever princess I promise you that" he cooed into her abdomen.
Now knowing what it was that April really needed, and knowing that she would stay regardless of what he said Master Splinter made the announcement that Donnie needed his rest and that it was time for everyone to leave so he could get some sleep. And with that everyone had left the room except Donnie and April. They stayed alone together with him holding her tightly while she cried.
Donnie couldn't bear to see her cry like this, especially since he knew he was the reason why. "April, please come here..." he begged her as he lightly tugged at her shirt and then leaned back against his pillows, tiredly patting the empty spot beside him.
April looked at him with a sad smile, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and gently crawled into bed next to him. He put his good arm on her back and she wrapped her small body around him completely. Then she laid her head on his chest so she could listen to the steady thump thump of his heart beating strongly underneath his shell. Donnie knew that this is what his best friend needed right now most of all. And really, he couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather have by his side right now. During what he knew was going to be the start of a long, slow, recovery for everyone.
