Okay, more fun stuff for Leo and Raph to deal with. Holding on? Great, let's go.
Ch 18 Say What?!.
Splinter sat at the kitchen table slowly sipping his tea and reading the newspaper while Mikey busied himself preparing dinner. He had just put six pork chops in the oven when a loud crash coming from the living room reached their ears. Surprised by the noise, they looked at each other in concern and quickly ran out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Splinter came out first and stopped short at the sight of an overturn coffee table and Raphael being picked up by Donatello and Doctor Rockwell from off the floor and being laid on the couch. Mikey quickly walked around him and gasped when he saw his brother unconscious and being fanned by Leonardo with one of his comics.
"Dudes!" Mikey ran over to them. "What happened?"
"Raph passed out." Donnie explained as he lightly tapped his brother's face. "Come on Raph wake up." He urged.
"Oh this is just great!" Leo groused sitting in Splinter's easy chair and putting the comic on the end table. He let out a low groan, wiped his face with his hands and leaned forward heavily, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands shaking it back and forth.
"May I ask what is going here?" Splinter sharply inquired. "Why did Raphael faint? Is everything alright?" He looked from one mutant to the other expecting an answer.
Donnie looked at Leo before looking at Splinter. "Well...uh…Sensei, the thing is...uh...Leo…is…uh"
"I'll tell him Don." Leo interrupted. He stood up and walked over to Splinter. "It looks like I'm gonna need to get use to saying this anyways." He grumbled. He stood in front of Splinter and took a huge deep breath. Splinter looked at him curiously as Leo stuck his hand out and began shaking Splinter's paw. "Congratulations Master Splinter." He told him with a shaky tone. "You are going to be a grandfather."
Splinter's eyes widen in shock. He was just about to say something when Mikey suddenly gave out a loud joyous yell.
"Ah sweet Sensei!" He whooped. "So which of your daughters is pregnant?" He looked from one brother to the other and his face suddenly clouded over with confusion. "Wait. Master Splinter doesn't have any daughters." He mused. He tapped his chin and creased his forehead as he thought hard. "And as far as I know we don't have any sisters." He looked at Splinter who was still looking at Leo in shock. "And I know Renet isn't…." Mikey looked to Donnie anxiously. "Angel?!" He almost shouted, bouncing around with excitement.
"It's not Angel." Leo told him turning away from Splinter. "It's me."
Mikey stared at Leo for several moments then suddenly doubled over and laughed hard. "Good one Leo." He said in between breaths. "But you're a little late for April Fool's Day." When everyone continued to glare at him with a hard serious expression, Mikey slowly began to calm, his eyes searched everyone's face and slowly they widen in astonishment. "Wait…Leo…you're…?"
"Yes!" Leo almost shouted at him.
"But I thought you were a dude!" Mikey exclaimed.
"I AM A DUDE!" Leo screamed making everyone flinch.
He stared angrily at Mikey who continued to stare at him in shock. His mouth slowly began to move and his eyes darted from one person to another. "But how…you're a...a…it can't….can't be…."Mikey's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head and everyone watched as he fell backward onto the floor with a loud thud.
"Oh for goodness' sake"Leo shook his head and sat back down with an annoyed huff.
"Would someone please explain what is going on here!" Splinter demanded as he made his way to Mikey and propped him up.
"I'm gonna be a daddy." Raph was now sitting up and had heard Leo telling his Sensei and brother what they had just been told. "I don't believe it." Raph looked around. "I'm not even twenty yet and I'm gonna be a daddy." Raph suddenly leaned forward and began breathing hard and fast.
"Calm down Raphael." Donnie told him as he shook his shoulders and forced him to look at him. "You need to be strong now, for Leo."
Raph looked up at Don and nodded anxiously. "Yeah, yeah." He got up and walked over to Leo who looked up at him nervously. "I…I um...oh wow." Raph looked around. "There's so much to do." Raph's eyes suddenly opened wide and Leo looked at him worriedly. "We need to get baby things and...and we need to make room for the baby and...and we need to…to...wait." He knelt down and looked at Leo excitedly. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"How the hell am I suppose to know." Leo scrunched his beak with a huff and stood up. He made his way to the kitchen, fist clenched in frustration. "I'm going to take a nap!" He announced angrily.
After the slamming of the door signaled he was in his room, Splinter turned to Donatello and Rockwell. "Care to explain exactly what is happening."
Rockwell and Donnie once again explained everything that was happening with Leo. After they were done, Splinter stroked his beard and nodded. After several moments a smile suddenly crossed his lips. "I am going to be a grandfather." He mused. His smile widen and his eyes shinned bright. "I am going to be a grandfather." He repeated then became serious. "This is a wonderful news but we must think of Leonardo." He looked from one son to another. "We must do everything we can to make sure Leonardo's health is taken care of." He advised. His face clouded over and turned back to Rockwell. "You say Leonardo will need a transfusion after the he gives birth?" They both nodded. "What must we do to ensure Leonardo and the baby stays healthy?"
"As I explained to Leonardo." Rockwell began. "Short of having an abortion…."
"THAT AIN'T AN OPTION!" Raph suddenly jumped up from the couch and stomped his way over to the mutant monkey. "No one is gonna harm my kid OR my mate."
"Raphael!" Splinter took Raph's arm and forced him back to the couch. "You were saying Dr. Rockwell?"
Rockwell looked at Raphael before continuing. "As I was saying….we cannot do the transfusion til after the birth to ensure the safety of the egg, so the best thing to do is to make sure Leonardo stays calm and is in a stress free environment." He walked over to where his briefcase sat on the floor. "He needs to eat a proper healthy diet, and I can give you a list of what he should eat and should not eat." He began to put his papers back in the envelope and put them away. "And above all, he should rest as much as possible." Rockwell began to walk to the door. "I would like to give him a physical tomorrow. Please have him come in with you Donatello." Donnie nodded and walked him to the door as he continued to give instructions. "He should be examined at least once a week to make sure everything is progressing properly as well as ensure the deterioration of his DNA doesn't take a turn for the worse."
"Thank you Dr. Rockwell." Donnie said as he watched him walk out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Rockwell bid him goodnight and walked to his car. After Don had closed the door he stared at his family. "So are we all clear on what needs to be done?" He asked them. The four of them sat down and stayed quiet for several minutes. The situation weighed heavily on their minds.
Mikey finally broke the silence. "As excited as I am to be an uncle." He began. "I'm scared for Leo."
"We all are Mikey." Donnie agreed. "But we'll do what we can to make sure he's comfortable."
"Yes..we must all…sniff…sniff" Splinter stopped speaking and suddenly sniffed the air. "I smell something burning." He told them.
Mikey's eyes widen. "MY PORK CHOPS!" He exclaimed and ran to the kitchen.
Raph watched him run out and then let out a heavy sigh. "Are you alright Raphael?" Splinter asked, putting a comforting paw on his shoulders.
"I'm okay father." Raph told him. "It just seems like whenever things start to get better for Leo, the universe deals him another blow." Raph rubbed his tired eyes. "Leo and I never even really talked about kids." He shook his head. "At one point, we figured we'd adopt like you and mom did but certainly not this soon. Now I'm being told that I may end up being a father and a widower all in one day." Raph looked up at the ceiling. "I'm going to see how Leo is doing."
"Raphael." Splinter smiled at him tenderly. "Leonardo is strong, and with you and the rest of us by his side, he will pull through this."
Raph smiled at his father. "Thank you Sensei." He bowed respectfully and went upstairs. He found Leo sitting at the small table, staring forlornly out the window.
"Hey babe." Raph went over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "What ya thinking about?"
Leo laid his head on Raph's hand and nuzzled him. "I was just thinking I would love to find my father's grave and burn it." He said through gritted teeth. He looked up at Raph. "Can we get darker curtains." He suddenly asked.
"What brought that on?"
"Jeffrey was able to take pictures of us and he had a few of us in here making love."
Raph snarled when he heard this. "I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-bitch."
"He's been takin' care of." Leo told him, standing up and making his way over to the bed. "Right now I would just love to pretend none of this ever happened." He laid down and stared up at the ceiling. "But I know that's easier said then done."
"Leo." Raph laid down on his side and propped himself on his elbow. "The doc wants to see you tomorrow and examine you, make sure everything's okay with the….um…the pregnancy." Leo nodded.
Raph stared at Leo and slowly moved his eyes down to Leo's lower plastron. He was just about to place his hand on Leo's stomach when he decided better of it. "Leo?"
Leo continued to look at the ceiling. "Yeah Raph?"
"I know the doc says you can terminate the pregnancy so you could get the transfusion." He watched Leo nervously as his mate continued to blink up at the ceiling but did nothing else. "Do you want to….to term…."
"No Raph." Leo said with finality. "I could never do that." Leo placed his left hand on his lower plastron and with his right, took Raph's free hand and placed it on top of his. Together, they caressed his stomach. "This baby will know only love." Leo whispered. "No matter what happens to me." He now turned his head to Raph. "He or she will be blessed and loved by this family." Raph saw a tear roll down Leo's cheek. He was scared. "No matter what. Okay?" He gave Raph's hand a squeeze. "Promise me." He whispered.
Raph moved his hand from Leo's stomach and up to his cheek, he gently wiped the tear and kissed him tenderly. "Nothing is gonna happen to you." He told him, stroking his cheek. "WE are going to enjoy watching our child grow up happy and healthy." Raph wrapped his arms around Leo and Leo snuggled into Raph's embrace. A warm feeling of peace fell over him as he slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
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The next day, Raph drove Leo and Donnie to TCRI and they followed Donnie into Dr. Rockwell's office.
"Are you feeling better Leonardo?" The monkey asked.
"I've accepted what you told me Doctor." Leo told him. "But I don't know if I will ever be feeling better about things till after all this is done and over with."
"Fair enough, please come with me to the lab."
Donnie turned to the others. "I'll be in my office. Have Dr. Rockwell call me if I'm needed." He advised and left the room. Raph and Leo followed Rockwell into an adjoining room. He had Leo remove his clothes and change into a gown then had him sit down on a hospital bed. Raph watched as Rockwell began to look at Leo's right wrist.
"Looks like your arm is doing better." He told him as he began to remove the splint. "I'll take the splint off and just put a fresh wrapping on it instead. Should be good as new by the end of the week." He smiled at Leo and continued his work. "I was thinking of doing it yesterday but you didn't seem to be in the mood to have any kind of an examination done."
Leo blushed and looked away from Rockwell. "I guess I was acting like a child." He told him timidly.
"Leonardo." Rockwell looked up at him in wonderment. "You were given some devastating news yesterday." He told him. "I think you handled yourself better then one would have expected."
"Yep, that's my fearless." Raph smiled proudly and Leo smiled back at him.
"Donatello did explain to me that you were experiencing nausea and vomiting. Are you still?" He asked.
Leo took a deep breath. "I still feel some nausea but I haven't vomited since last Friday."
"That will end eventually." Rockwell began wrapping bandages along Leo's arm. "Best thing to do is to keep some saltines by your bedside and slowly get out of bed. If you feel nauseous, then eat some crackers before you begin your day."
Leo nodded and Rockwell finished with his arm and then began to take Leo's temperature as well as his blood pressure and pulse. "BP's a little high and you do have a bit of a fever." He mused. He listened to his breathing and heart beat. "Pulse is a bit rapid." He took out a needle and extracted some blood.
"Is that bad." Leo asked.
"Considering your DNA is going through a physical change, it is to be expected." He said as he looked into Leo's eyes with a penlight. "I have some prescriptions I want you to get as well as put you on a special diet. You'll also need some prenatal vitamins." He then had him lay down and began to examine Leo's stomach area. "Even with everything you're going through, we can still try to ensure that the egg will be safe. And giving you the necessary medications and vitamins will help that along."
Raph watched intently as the Doctor moved his hands along Leo's plastron, pressing gently in various places. He spoke gently to Leo explaining what he was doing as he played his hands over Leo's lower region and down toward his groin. "We'll do x-rays next week and get a look at the egg." He told them which made both of them look at each other in excitement.
Raph's eyes narrowed as he watched Rockwell examine Leo's lower plastron. As the monkey carefully made his way in between Leo's legs, he inadvertently caused Leo to let out a small churr which in turn caused Raph to emit a rather loud growl. Both Leo and Rockwell looked at him in surprise and Rockwell gave him a stern face.
"If you don't mind Raphael." Rockwell said turning back to Leo. "That was totally unnecessary and I will not tolerate your attitude. Either please go sit over there in the corner and be quiet or go back into my office till we are done."
Leo, although slightly embarrassed, covered his mouth and hid a giggle as Raph himself turned a bright red and walked sullenly over to the chair in the corner. He continued to watch and he became somewhat nervous when Rockwell's eyes narrowed and he quickly began checking Leo in the same spots he had already gone over.
"I don't believe it." The doctor said in astonishment. "It's amazing."
"What." They both asked at the same time.
"You are carrying more then one egg." He told them.
Raph and Leo looked at each other excitedly. "We're having twins!?" Leo sat up slightly, his smile widen in anticipation.
"Not twins Leonardo." He told them happily. "From what I can tell…Triplets."
"WHAT!" Raph stood up and was just about to make his way to the bed when he suddenly fell forward.
"Raph!" Leo shook his head in exasperation at the prone figure of his mate laying face down on the floor. "Do any of these Hamatos not faint at news like this?" He asked with a huff.
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Okay, so as I've stated before in one of my other stories, I have no medical knowledge and all this is made up anyway so please go along with it. A lot of what Leo will go through is much of what happened to me when I was pregnant. This will be in a later chapter coming up so keep those reviews coming. :)
