SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING AND THEN MAKING IT THIS SHORT! I have been busy with college, and problems, and really just not had enough inspiration or motivation to update... But after being at the hospital today to visit a young family member who was in an accident this Saturday and could barely do anything at all... Let's just say I got a bit of motivation and inspiration back.

So after lot's of talking, happy reading ;)

I do not own TMNT

Don's POV

You can say what you want about the Mutanimals, but their sofa have seen better days. I mean it's comfy and all, but worn out. I let a finger slide over a spot on one of the back pillows that was patched together with a thin fabric, most likely cut out from a curtain. These patches seemed to be a theme on all of their furniture.

I let my thoughts wander while April and Dr. Rockwell placed my still numb legs in braces. I felt curious about them, they had just the right shape for my legs. Where did he find these? Who made them? I'll have to ask him about it later...

"There, all done." April declared and smiled at me, and naturally I smiled back. I stroke the thick plastic that now covered both legs from the feet to the thighs. All I was able to feel was my toes, and moving them was still impossible.

None the less I stood up with the help of April, an arm around her shoulder and a crutch in the other hand. It felt weird to stand up again, and I soon noticed that I had to let the crutches carry all my weight as I lifted my legs from the floor, then quickly swung them forward. I'm sure I looked like an idiot, legs turning in weird directions, but no one laughed. On the contrary they smiled at me, congratulated the small victory of standing and getting forward.

But for some reason I didn't feel happy at all. Not only the risk of never being able to walk without assistance, but knowing that none of us would ever be the same turtles we were a few days ago made my heart ache. I stopped walking with a sigh, which I seemed to do a lot lately. What was the point of being happy when your family, your brothers are all... Disabled. When none of them are able to care for themselves.

Putting on the braces by myself would be easy enough as soon as I learn how to do so, I felt confident that it would be the least of our problems, but taking care of them for who knows how long? This would change everything. I would no longer be able to stay in the lab till early morning working on a project, instead I would be on constant alert and follow a schedule. Letting anyone out of sight or leaving the lair would be a no go as well. That is, if we're even able to stay there now that Shredders henchmen knows about it.

If only Master Splinter was still alive, he would know what to do. He's always been the one taking care of us and tell us that everything would be alright, that we would figure something out. If he was still here, he would advise us and lead us in the right directions. He's always been quick to notice if something was off, and had he stayed awake that night to meet them at the entrance all covered in goop, then he wouldn't just tell them to go take a shower, he would send them to the lap and I would have examined the green substance. This way we might have got the cure earlier, and Splinter would have knocked both Razar and Fishface out the moment they entered the lair. I would spray them with the mind serum and Sensei would leave them on the surface and they would wake up with no memories of our home.

If dad was still here, Razar would never get close enough to hurt me, my legs would still be working and this nasty illness wouldn't have gone this far. Who knows, maybe we even saved New York once again, but this wasn't some alternate universe, this was reality, and it sucked.

A faint groan caught my attention and I looked towards the beds in mild surprise. There, trying to sit up in bed was Leo. He was pale, red puffy eyes and trembling like a leaf. He looked weak, which were proven to be correct as he gave up and stayed down...

With sudden new found determination I forced myself to continue walking. With a crutch in each hand I walked all the way to his bed and sat down on the edge, then leaned the crutches against the small nightstand. I smiled and stroke his shoulder, glad to see him awake. I soon noticed his confusion and a hand traveling to his throat. I took his hand and moved it away.

"No Leo, it's okay, it's helping you breathe and you shouldn't touch it."

Leo gave a faint nod, eyes blinking as the move seemed to have made him dizzy. It was quiet for a bit, and I was about to ask him how he was feeling, but he broke the silence before me with a simple question;

"Where are they?" His voice sounded off, and not just feeble, it sounded weak and his breathing was noisy, I was barely able to understand him.

"We're at the Mighty Mutanimals hide out and you just woke up. Mikey and Raph are still sleeping. How are you feeling?"

He went quiet for a while, looking like thinking was the most uncomfortable thing to ever try to accomplish, which could only mean that he was having a headache. I was about to ask again when he suddenly coughed hardly. It didn't seem to stop anytime soon, so I took the remote for the bed to elevate his upper body to sit up without having to force him. I lay a hand on his chest and started rubbing, hoping it would help loosen it up. The cough attack finally stopped and watery red eyes looked at me, his breath rattling, as if slime got stuck in his throat making it hard to breathe.

I looked at Rockwell who pointed at a machine that is used for Tracheostomy suctioning. Right, I knew what to do and what to use, but having no experience of it made my hands shaky and heart beat faster. I knew Rockwell was keeping an eye on me in case something went wrong, but that didn't calm my nerves, I knew I had to learn to do it myself. He wouldn't be around at all times, but I hopefully would, and until Leo learned to do it by himself, if he ever would, I would be in charge of it.

I carefully moved Leo back down, disinfected my hands and put on over sized plastic gloves. I connected a clean catheter to the suction machine, then inserted the other end of the catheter into the trach tube. I applied suction and gently rolled it around while pulling it back out. It felt like I was doing it wrong but the rattling stopped and is breathing was only a slight pant, so I must have done something right. I unplugged it from the machine, turned it off and cleaned the catheter, all while Leo's eyes followed me.

"So... Are you hungry?" I asked as I finished and took off the gloves. What a stupid question to ask someone who almost choke a few minutes ago... Yet he nodded. I wasn't sure he would be able to keep it in him, but he was willing to try.

"Great! I mean, I'll make you some soup." I smiled and headed back to the couch to ask a very important question. "Do we have soup?"

...

"Here you go Leo, some tomato soup for you." I placed the breakfast bed table with a bowl and a cup of water in front of him. He looked at soup, then for some reason stuck a single finger into it.

I sighed and grab his hand to wipe it, then handed him the spoon. He took it and dip it, but his hand was to shaky to bring it up to his mouth without spilling. I praised myself for placing a towel in his lap. He was getting frustrated so I took the spoon and helped him. Feeding an older brother was weird to say the least, but it wouldn't always be like this, just for now.

He coughed by the first spoon full, and he didn't take more than four before turning his head away in sudden disgust. He had enough, he was getting greener and forcing him to take another spoonful would end up with him throwing it all back up. Small steps, we'll just focus on those. I took the bowl and table away before making him drink some water. As he finished half the glass I took the remote and let him lay down again, pulled the blanket up to his chest and placed a cold rag on his forehead. It didn't take more than a few minutes for him to fall back asleep...

How do you think Raph and Mikey will react when they wake up? Do you think they'll be able to go back to the lair? Leave a review and we'll see if you guys are right... Again XD