A/N: Big thanks to my beta, Ravenshell!

Chapter 58

When my brothers and I were younger, we use to bask under the warmth of a spot lamp especially during the winter months. It felt so good, the light comforting our scaled skin with gentle heat as we clustered against each other, taking in the warmth of our close proximity as well. I long for that childhood warmth as the coldness at my center aches and spreads to my extremities.

Curling inward, I try to ward off the chill but it only worsens making my body tremble and my teeth chatter. I remember Mikey is with me so I scoot my shell closer to him in hopes of keeping warm. However, that single movement causes an electrifying pain to shoot up my spine into my head. My brain is pounding like ice picks being wedged in my skull through my eyes. I try to cry out to my brother but a pitiful whimper squeaks from my mouth instead.

It's so cold. My body is restless as the aches in my bones are impossible to soothe by self-rocking. I burying myself deeper beneath the blanket but the cold that whistles through my body is relentless. I just want to get warm.

My eyes shoot open as my heart jumps into my throat. Fumbling to sit up, I look around and then I remember I'm sleeping with Donnie tonight. My eyes droop and I flop back on my pillow. That was a really freaky dream. I dreamed I was running to Donnie but by the time I got to him, his skin turned porcelain and started to crack. The cracks spread until he finally shattered in front of me. Hundreds of pieces of my brother lay scattered at my feet. When I look closer, the pieces turn into mirror glass but instead of my reflection there's a monster in the glass. Just as I reach for a shard of glass, the mirror monster reaches through the glass and grabs me. Then I woke up. Pretty intense, huh?

Despite the nightmare, I still manage to snuggle back under the covers, scooting closer to Donnie until my face is pressed against his carapace. Mmm. Donnie's super warm; it's like having my own personal space heater. I'm start to dose off but a vibration keeps me from Dreamland. I realize the vibration is coming from Donnie. I can hear his teeth chattering as he shivers.

"Donnie?...You awake, dude?" I whisper as I touch his shell. Gasping, I pull my hand away. It's not just the heat coming from his shell that shocks me but the spasm-like pulses thumping inside his shell. I cringe at the sound of retching beside me. Sounds like dinner made an encore appearance.

Turning Donnie toward me by his shell, I try to keep him from curling up in his own vomit. He gasps in pain and whimpers as I turn him on his shell. "Sorry, sorry!" I pull at the side of his shell once more to until he's turnt on his side facing me and away from the puddle of puke on the opposite side. He trembles and curls as much of his long bulky limbs into a ball as he can.

"C-cold." He mutters miserably even though he's as hot as a bonfire. I can't see him very well with only the hallway light shining in the room from the cracked door. Tumbling out of bed as quickly as I can, I flip the light switch.

"Oh man, D." It's all I can say at the pitiful sight of my brother. His chameleon changing-skin is a deathly grey and he's drenched in sweat. I do the only thing I know to do.

"LEO!"

It's been a long day for everyone. Donnie is finally resting and Mikey is with him keeping watch. Mr. O'neil, April, and I sit in the den waiting for Master Splinter to return. With no additional information to be found on this EPF group and no possible cure for Donnie's mutation, silence is our companion with the exception of Raph pacing the floor and simultaneously sighing with impatience. We are completely out of our element. If this was happening to any of us, Donnie would be all over the situation not sleeping or eating until he made some kind of breakthrough. He would have already located the headquarters of the EPF and dismantled any threat it may have posed us and others. Our efforts to save my brother have been failures. Donnie would have beat all odds and came through for us. I've let Donnie down in the worst way possible. Sighing, I hold my head down as I rub my hands over my head.

"Sensei's been gone for a while. I'm gonna go and-"

"No." I says sternly without lifting my head. "Sensei will be back soon."

"Are you kidding me? He's been gone over an hour. What if those EPF goons found him? You wanna lose our brother and father?"

Sitting beside April and her father on the couch, I press my hands together and hold them against my lips willing my scales not to get ruffled by Raphael's comment. He doesn't mean it; he's speaking from a place of fear. April stands up confronting my hotheaded brother.

"Take it back. He's not dead!" Raph grabs her wrists before she can shove at his plastron.

"He doesn't even know who we are! He may as well be-"

"Raphael, if I were you I would think long and hard before you finish that sentence." I keep my tone level but as I lift my gaze to meet his glare, I show just enough irritation in my narrowed eyes to let him know I'm not in the mood. Fear or not, I'm not letting him speak that kind of negativity into our family.

Letting go of April, Raph steps back and I can see the urge to bolt out the lair burning in his glossy eyes. Raph's angry and feels hopeless in helping our brother as Donatello slowly loses himself to his mutations. I know. I've been drowning in those same emotions for weeks.

I take a breath before softening glare, mentally too drained to exchange words with him. "We're all anxious, Raph, but I'm asking you to please stay in the lair. I don't have the energy to worry about you and look after Donnie. My voice wavers into an unintentional despair as I lock eyes with Raphael. The flames of destruction in his countenance extinguish as he looks away to blink back tears.

"LEO!"

Everyone's head snaps toward Donnie's room at the sound of Mikey's panicked cry. I'm up and running toward the door before Raphael and the others, slamming my hands against the door as it swings open.

"He's really sick, Leo." Mikey tells me but sick is an understatement as my eyes fall upon the trembling form of my brother. "I...I didn't know. I fell asleep, I didn't know he was this sick."

I push past my rambling baby brother. Kneeling by Donnie's bedside. "Donnie can you hear me?" My hand meets with feverish heat as it brushes against his forehead.

"... hurts" my brows relax into sympathy. "Shell...hurts."

"He's burning up. We need to bring his temp down." Donnie shivers so hard I almost mistake it for a seizure. "Mikey, fill the tub with lukewarm water...not too cold!" I shout after him when he disappears a little too quickly from the room. "Raph. Mr. O'Neil. Help me carry Donnie to the bathroom."

With me at Donnie's shoulders, Raph at his feet, and Mr. O'Neil between us holding up his shell so it doesn't slump, Donnie is limp and barely conscious. We manage to maneuver him into the bathroom where Mikey has the tub half-filled with water. "Okay, ease him in nice and slow." Mr. O'Neil steps back as Raph and I takeover and lower Donnie into the tub. As soon as his lower half is submerged in the water, his eyes open wide with pinpoint pupils.

"Cold!" He shrieks as he tries to get away from the room temperature water. Water splashes both Raph and me as Donnie squirms and tries to slip away from our grabbing hands.

"The water's barely cool!" Raph argues with a grunt as he tries to avoid a stray kick from Donnie while holding him in the tub.

"It's his fever." Mr. O'Neil says from somewhere behind us.

"Stop! No!" Even though his movements are sluggish and feeble, his large arms and legs are still difficult to keep in place especially on a slippery floor. "Please…it hurts…" His anguished voice is nearly unbearable to hear as Raph and I hold him down to keep him from crawling out of the tub.

"I know, but you have to stay in the water for a little while. We have to bring your fever down." Gradually, he tires out as his erratic breathing slows and his arms drop mercilessly in the water. He's almost too tall for the tub as his knees rise from the water and slump to the side. I ease his head against the wall when it starts to wobble restlessly as he fights to hold it up. "Shhh, you're okay. We've got you." I talk in a low tone to my sick brother as I cup water from the tub and trickle it over his head.

"It…hurts."

"Just a little longer." He tries to say something else, but his eyes roll back and he succumbs to unconsciousness.

"I…I just helped him sleep." I turn around to see April near the doorway with her father and Mikey. "I couldn't take seeing him in so much pain." She sniffs as she wipes her arm across her eyes.

I nod. "Thank you." I look at Donnie's blank expression and can only hope that his dreams are peaceful for once.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know he had a fever." There are traces of guilt and worry in Mikey's voice as he anxiously fidgets with the wrappings along his wrists.

"You called Leo just in time, little brother. If you hadn't been in there, none of us would've known he had a fever." Raph praises him with a genuine smile and it seems to put Mikey at ease. I'm grateful Raph is stepping up to play big brother since I'm still spinning with exhaustion from dealing with Donnie. He offers to heat up some leftover pizza, shooing Mr. O'Neil, April, and Mikey to the kitchen before clasping my knee with his hand. "You good, bro?"

"Yeah."

"I'll make sure, Mikey saves you a slice." I see the apology wrapped tightly in his gesture and acknowledge it with a nod. When Raph leaves, I lean back against the wall between the tub and the toilet and prop my arm on the toilet lid as I watch Donnie sleep. Touching the back of my hand to his forehead, I can still feel the heat radiating from his skin.

"Hang in there, Donnie." I watch over my brother until I lose my fight with sleep.

TBC

A/N: Things are looking so good for Donnie, but then again things haven't been looking good for him for quite some time now. Stay tuned next week for a brand new chapter! Thank you for your continued support. Don't forget to leave a review, I love hearing from you guys :)

See you next chapter,

Poetique