Donatello sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes, the bags under them quite apparent. He had been pulling all-nighters for quite some time now in order to gain new information about Sensei's current condition. Almost all of the sources he found simply told him to just make sure Splinter was comfortable, but Don wouldn't have it. If there was a remedy that could keep his master living, he would find it no matter what.
Sensei was going through almost a pattern now with his illness. He would have days where he was fit as a fiddle. You wouldn't even know he was sick if you hadn't been informed! But then there were the bad days. When Splinter's lungs would be full of fluids or giving the rat master a feeling of them being crushed by the weight of his chest. When he would not even be able to sit up, much less get out of bed. On days like those, Master Splinter would stay in bed and would be taken care of, usually by Donatello.
All of the turtles had started spending less time with their adoptive father, the atmosphere of his room alone turning their moods sour and giving them a sense of dread. Leo still came in for his afternoon tea with his Master, but they grew shorter with time. Even April and Casey had come fewer times to spend time with the rat mutant.
Yesterday had been especially hard on the aging rat's body and Donatello was preparing to check on him with his morning cup of jade tea. The kettle soon screamed and Don poured the tea into a cup before making his way to the rat master's room. He tapped on the wooden frame of the rice paper door before sliding it, revealing Master Splinter meditating in the corner with a few sticks of incense burning. A small smile slowly crept across Donatello's tired face as he watched his father meditate. He entered the room and kneeled before his master.
"Good morning, Sensei" he said respectively as he bowed and held out the cup to the other. Aged but sharp deep brown eyes slowly opened as the older mutant reached out to take up the hot drink.
"Good morning, my son" Splinter said softly, trying to hide how he needed to wheeze in order to speak. "I trust that you slept well?" Don watched him for a moment before nodding softly.
"I slept well. I hope I can say the same for you..." Splinter smiled softly and gave a slight nod.
"Indeed. I had a dream last that has...shed light on future events. And I do believe that I have a resolution for them." The olive green turtle frowned slightly in confusion as he waited for his sensei to elaborate. "...I wish to leave the sewers" Splinter explained as he sipped the tea in his claw. Donatello's eyes widened a fraction.
"Leave?" He repeated, unsure if he had heard the elder correctly. The rat nodded and set his now empty cup down before sighing.
"Donatello, I am no longer the rat I used to be" he said softly, "I am older, weaker. I appreciate all that you have done to help me regain my health, but I believe that we can no longer avoid the situation. I am dying, my son." Donatello felt as if he had just swallowed his tongue down his throat. Hearing Master Splinter say it himself was the nail in the coffin. There was no more dancing around the facts. No more denial. He was going to lose his father.
"I can see the pain it causes you and your brothers to know such a thing. To see your father and master so vulnerable. But...I do not wish for my finals days in this life to be in the underground sewers of a metropolis. I am requesting that we transfer to the O'Neil farmhouse, where I may be surrounded by nature. That is where I wish to be when I leave this world."
Donatello could feel his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach. His lips suddenly became very dry and he licked them in hopes to keep them from cracking. "I...When do you wish to leave, Master?" He rasped out.
His father smiled warmly. "At the earliest convenience possible, my son." He placed a bony hand on his student's shoulder as a sign of reassurance. Donatello only nodded before standing up. He turned to leave when his master spoke again. "Thank you, my son" Splinter said softly to the turtle, wanting him to know how much he appreciated this. Donatello quickly left the dojo and retreated to his lab without a word.
It was only when he had deadbolted the door that he allowed himself to slowly fall to his knees and weep.
Michelangelo huffed as he loaded another set of blankets into the back of the Shellraiser. Master Splinter had asked to go to the farmhouse about a week ago and Donnie had been quite compliant with his decision. The mutant family and their friends April and Casey had quickly made plans. April closed up shop at the antique store and Casey took leave from the auto repair shop he currently worked at. Mikey had talked with Silver Sentry and he had agreed to have the Justice Force take over their patrols while they were gone.
Usually whenever a trip to the farmhouse was suggested, the planning and prep was stretched out over a longer period of time, say a month or so. But Mikey knew why they were all in such a hurry to get there so soon. They all did. This was Splinter's last request before he passed away. It was a bit of a shock to hear himself think about it. It was hard to imagine someone like Splinter having a dying wish. Then again, it seemed much more real when they took into account his health for the last few months.
Mikey shook his head and pushed the feelings aside. He was NOT about to get all wishy washy in the garage. Thankfully, the sound of the garage door opening saved him from having to have a talk with himself. The sound of wheels squeaking caught his attention and he turned to see Raphael walk in with a dolly stacked high with boxes. He smirked slightly as he watched him roll the load into the garage.
Every since their little excursion last week, the two brothers grew much closer. A few nights after his discovery, Raphael had slipped into Mikey's room again to sneak another peak at the tapes his had. Similar events had ensued and had been every night since. Recently, Raphael had been bold enough to respond to Michelangelo's actions by copying them, which excited the other greatly.
Raph mumbled a 'hello' before he gripped a box and lifted it up into the back of the Shellraiser. "Donnie's makin' us take all da damn canned food ta save money" he grumbled as he grabbed another box. Mikey nodded as he watched the other, the gears in his head turning. Raph soon reached the last box and let out a sigh of relief. He reached down and bent his knees as he lifted up the heavy box, grunting as he carried it to the back of the Shellraiser and set it down. He was placing the box in the space next to another box when he heard a loud smack and his right upper thigh experienced a hot stinging pain. He gasped as wide golden eyes turned back, meeting mischievous cornflower blue ones.
"Da hell'd ya do dat for?!" He whispered harshly to the other, not wanting to draw attention from anyone else in the Lair. Mikey just grinned and wiggled his brow.
"What? I can't appreciate a good ass in front of me?" He teased with a small chuckle. He received a thump on the head in response.
"We said no doin' dat when we ain't behind a locked door" Raph hissed as he rubbed his sore buttcheek. "Do ya want us ta get caught?"
"Oh, like you DON'T?" Mikey retorted with a roll of his eyes. "You mean to tell me you haven't fantasized about Donnie walking in on us and joining?"
"Dat's not da point!" The hothead snapped, "We can't risk it, Mikey! What if Leo or Masta Splinta caught us?! Wouldn't be so cute den, would it?!"
"Would you calm down? Geez, you're acting worse than Leo on patrols" Mikey huffed as he stuck his tongue out at the other. Raphael frowned, his nose scrunching up in distaste. He was about to reply with a snappy remark when the door opened again and Leonardo came in with a duffel bag. He stopped when he saw his brothers in what look like confrontation and huffed with aggravation.
"Please tell me you two aren't fighting and packing at the same time? The last time you did that, we lost precious cargo after a junkyard raid." Raphael frowned at his older brother, obviously not in the mood to put up with his leader crap.
"Stuff it up yer shell, Fearless," he growled as he continued to stack boxes inside of the Shellraiser.
"Can't you two get along for a day?"
"Sure, Leo," Mikey replied with a knowing smirk, "We get along all the time." The hothead glared at his goofball brother and whapped him on the head, earning a yelp of pain from him.
"Raphael! Please make an effort and try to act civilized!" Leo commanded the other. He was answered with a dirty look from the red-masked terrapin. Mikey rubbed his head and pouted slightly at Raphael, his bottom lip pronounced and quivering slightly. Mikey's eyes widened when he saw Raphael start to walk towards Leo, his stance giving away his intentions to fight with the other.
"What are you three doing?" a voice from the garage door said suddenly, grabbing their attention. There stood Donatello, a medium-sized cardboard box in his hands. Mikey quickly stood up straight and smiled almost nervously at the genius. "You're not fighting, are you? You know that Sensei doesn't want us fighting right now…" Leonardo moved away from Raphael to walk towards Donatello.
"I'm sorry, Donnie. We'll behave," He said as he placed a hand on an olive green shoulder. Donatello flinched slightly at the sudden contact and quickly avoided Leo's eyes.
"W-We need to finish packing soon. April and Casey will be here in two hours to take us to the farmhouse…"
It had taken about four hours to drive up to Casey's grandmother's farmhouse, the rain delaying them for an hour or so. They had been relatively quiet for the time being, content with just riding along as Sensei slept. When they finally made it to the farmhouse, the first thing to happen was to get a bed set up for Splinter, which Donatello was able to do quickly while Raphael carried their frail father inside the old home. Everyone else began the tedious chore of unpacking the van and setting up everything to stay for a while. Leonardo had at one point asked April how long she had scheduled to be out here.
"As long as I am needed," she replied simply before going to back to whatever it was she had been doing. The day was filled with work for the four turtles and their friends as they cleaned up the farmhouse and began getting comfy. April made dinner with Mikey's help that night, and the family gathered in the living room to eat. A strange feeling filled the air as they ate in silence. Perhaps it was the reality as to why they were here in the first place. Donatello was the first to leave, claiming that he needed to check on Sensei and give him his medicine for the night. They waited until after he left before they began talking amongst themselves.
"S'he gonna be like that tha whole time?" Casey asked before taking another bite of chicken.
"Can you blame him?" April asked as she looked at him, "He's Splinter's doctor, Casey. He's the one who probably know more about the full extent of his condition than anyone else…. No offense to you guys."
"None taken," Mikey said with a slight nod, "I'm glad I'm not smart like Donnie. I don't wanna know everything that's wrong with Sensei." The other two nodded quietly in agreement.
"So who's gonna be on watch first?" asked Raph, "Donnie-boy needs ta sleep and he won't unless someone's watchin' Masta Splinta."
"I'll do it," Leonardo volunteered with a raised hand, "I've been meaning to spend some time with Father anyways. Even if its just to watch over him." They were all in agreement and dispersed to get ready for bed.
Leonardo quietly entered the dark room, a small satchel on his arm as he looked around. Donatello looked up from his placed beside the bed Splinter was sleeping in. Leo waved silently and walked over to him, helping him up. "I'm relieving you of your duties," he whispered as to not wake the old rat.
"I've got it," Don insisted as he turned towards Splinter, "I need to be here if he needs something."
"Donatello, I know what to do. You showed us all how to take care of him before we left, remember?"
"Oh...yes…" Leonardo frowned at Don's tone. He sounded off, as if he was here in body but not in mind.
"When was the last time you slept?" he dared to ask.
"Sleep? ...I slept…" The olive genius trailed off again as his eyes looked back to Sensei.
"Donatello," Leo said again, with more power behind his voice this time, "Go to bed. You're no use to Splinter when you're like this."
"Leo, please. I have to-"
"Hamato Donatello. Bed. NOW. And if I so much as hear a peep from your room before eight o'clock tomorrow, your training will be doubled when we get back." Now, if it hadn't been so late and he wasn't so tired, Don would have fought back, but by this point, he had two Leonardos standing in front of him giving disappointed glares. And so with a huff, he nodded and rubbed his temples.
"Fine, but if he needs something, come and get me immediately."
"Go, Donnie. Get some sleep."
After a few more minutes of bickering, Leonardo finally managed to actually make his younger brother leave. He sighed as he closed the door and turned to look at the frail form that was his father. He quietly walked up to him and frowned at just how helpless he seemed. Was this small, shaking rat really the great Hamato Splinter, student of Hamato Yoshi and master of the art of invisibility? If the blue leader had not known Splinter himself, he would not be able to believe it. He quickly pushed the thought away and composed himself as he sat down on the stool and opened up the small satchel. He pulled out a small candle, a box of matches, and a book.
Using the matches, he lit the small candle and opened up the book, taking in the smell of old parchment as he began to read, settling in for the night.