So, up to Chapter Four! This will take a few days, I fear, but I have three days free- not cutting dead animals, thanks to the Lord- and maybe I can finish this chapter this weekend. Just in case: In Germany there were only the first and second seasons in TV and that´s why the only things I know about Bishop etc. are from other fan fictions.
My story will deal in later chapters with Bishop and will not follow the official story line as much as I know from fan fictions and from Let's say "Glory of Love" plays shortly after "Bishop's Gambit".
Thank you very much for the reviews. It's really nice to get some kind of "reward" for writing. I searched in the internet, but there are only TWO German Turtles fan sites, and no one has fan fiction! And here are no comics, no magazines, no new episodes and so on, I have to buy everything from the U.S.A. I demand equal rights for all Turtle fans!
Very thanks again to Cynlee, you know why…for everyone who does not know, see the first three chapters.
P.S.: Don't be so angry with Tally, will you?
TMNT is the property of Mirage. Tally Brown and other Original Characters are the property of the author.
Chapter 4: Betrayal
Flying. Falling. He couldn't see. He couldn't breath! Desperately he gasped for breath, he struggled for air, but no, his throat was choked, he would suffocate! Pain! So much pain. His head was burning. He wasn't able to move. Stabbing pains shot through his muscles. He coughed a few times, sending new waves of pain through his body, especially through his lungs. He was half aware now that he was lying in some kind of bed. He didn't know where he was or what had happened and he didn't care at the moment. He just couldn't. His head ached too much.
Something cold touched his forehead and instinctively he winced. Then he finally decided to open his eyes. Feverishly he looked at a young woman, who anxiously peered back. For a moment he wondered who she was, but then he decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. He closed his eyes again. It was too exhausting to keep them open.
"Splinter?"
Faintly he heard a voice.
"Are you awake?"
It took a while for him to realize that the question was directed at him. His memory came back in fragments. He was hurt by the Foot. This women had rescued him, and he had…
Stupid, stupid, stupid rat, he thought. Must have been the fever. He should never has told this human about his sons!
Tally Brown, that was her name.
He tried to speak, but the only thing that came out of his throat was a dry croak. So he nodded his head to answer her question. Bad idea. He instantly grabbed his head with his left hand. He was not even sure which way was up and which was down.
"Shh. It's okay. You have had a very high fever. You still have, actually. Just rest."
He managed to open his eyes again and tried once more to speak, but his voice failed. He coughed and this time he tasted blood.
Tally lifted a glass of water to his mouth.
"Drink this. It's a mild analgesic. I'm sorry, but I didn't bring anything stronger with me. However, for now it'll be enough."
Splinter refused. He didn't want to drink anything at all, but Tally mildly forced him to swallow the liquid. After a few minutes he felt even dizzier than before. But the pain subsided and he slowly fell asleep. He barely noticed that a clinical thermometer was put under his tongue, then he felt nothing more.
Tally wiped away the sweat from her forehead and kept an eye on her patient. Last night she was sure that he would die. When she had come out around midnight to see how he was doing, he was barely breathing. It had been a very long, hard and exhausting night. His fever had risen and risen; he had coughed blood and had fought against her as she had tried to keep him calm. She had a long scratch from his claws at her upper arm. She knew that she could not blame him for her injury, but she gave him a mild barbiturate as well, just in case. Even in his fever he was too strong for her and she was just glad that he hadn't bit her; rat bites are serious enough, but he was huge! She was again a little bit afraid of him, but what should she do? She couldn't just set him out off the door.
Then she had an idea. She flipped the telephone book open and searched for the name Splinter had mentioned yesterday, "April O´Neil". But she had no luck. There were too many listings under "O´Neil", including three "April"s, five "A."s, and a lot of entries with no first name at all. Should she call them all? And what could she say? "Hello, my name is Tally Brown, M.D. I live in NYC and I found a giant talking rat yesterday who said he knows you." Oh yes, that would go over very well.
She sighed and put the telephone book away. Looks like she would have to care for her strange patient a little bit longer.
Her stomach mumbled and reminded her that she had not eaten anything since the soup the evening before. She yawned and went to the kitchen. This was too stressful for a vacation. Carrying heavy animals, fighting against them, staying awake the whole night-- the only thing she wanted right now was a long hot bath and then to sleep until noon of the next day. But unfortunately there was a big, talking, heavily injured rat in her living room, ruining her new sofa.
She sighed and discover that she had forgotten to go shopping. The only things left in her fridge were a salad, a little bit of milk and two calorie reduced yogurts. Angrily she banged the door shut. Was there anything more what could go wrong?
Tally went back to the living room. Splinter seemed to be sleeping more or less peacefully, though his breathing was still rather labored, and now and again he moved disquietingly, struggling against the blanket. She was unsure if she could risk leaving him home alone, yet she needed supplies.
Finally she decided to risk it.
At the front door she hesitated, then she went back and wrote a note in case he would awaken. As she put in on the table, she noticed the little red spots on the blanket.
Damn!
She hated to be that insensitive, but it seemed as if she wouldn´t need the supplies and bandages that urgently. She felt his pulse and listened to his breathing again. After that, she was pretty sure that he wouldn't survive the next night, except through a miracle. He seemed not only to have broken ribs, but internal injuries as well. He would bleed to death and she could not help him.
Nevertheless she decided to stay.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Splinter awoke late that afternoon. His head felt a little bit clearer than in the morning, but he was still not able to speak. Then he noticed Tally. She sat in the armchair like the first time when he awoke and she was sleeping. She looked worried and exhausted.
Splinter felt pity and guilt. He knew that this whole situation wasn't that easy for the young woman. Then he took notice of the note. He managed to grab it and saw the pencil beneath it. He had an idea. The damage to him was great, he could sense, and he didn't want to burden her any longer than necessary. It was very difficult for him to write with his left hand, not to mention doing so while in a reclining position where he couldn´t see exactly what he was doing, but he finally was successful.
Then he waited for her to wake up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tally yawned and opened her eyes. This little nap had been very refreshing. She looked to Splinter, who returned the look.
"Oh, fine. You´re awake. I´m sorry, but I have to go shopping. How are you feeling? Can I leave you alone for an hour?"
Splinter nodded and stretched his hand out.
"Still not able to speak? What's that?"
Tally grabbed at the piece of paper. In a very scrawly script were a few numbers written.
"Is that a telephone number?"
Splinter nodded again and held his left hand to his ear as if he would hold a telephone.
"Okay, I understand. Wait a minute."
Tally took the telephone and dialed the number.
Ring,ring…
DING-DONG! Suddenly the doorbell rang. Tally without thinking hung up without finishing the call. She looked at the clock. It was nearly six PM. Who could that be?
She sighed.
"We´ll try later. Let me first take a look at who's out there."
She opened the front door-- and stared directly into a bunch of red roses. A smiling face appeared behind them.
"Tally, dear, I couldn't stand it any longer without you!"
Robert Crowe bent forward to kiss her, but Tally turned her head aside. Now she was really in trouble!
"Robert, sorry, but this is a pretty bad moment to visit me. I was just going out shopping and…"
"Tally, it's raining cats and dogs. Won't you even offer me a cup of coffee?"
And before Tally could protest, he went through the door and into the living room. Tally leaned heavily against the door frame and waited for a astonished shout or something else.
"Tally!"
Right!
She followed her "main squeeze" (as he liked to refer to himself) and thought about what to tell him.
"Look, I found him…Eh?"
"You found what?" asked Robert.
Tally looked about wonderingly. Splinter was nowhere to be seen.
"Did you sleep here last night?" Robert pointed at the blanket.
"Eh, no, I just had a nap before. The weather makes me tired."
"I see. Hey, what´s that? Are you bleeding?" He had discovered the little red spots.
"No. Don´t know what that is. Maybe juice?"
"Mmm". Suspiciously he sniffed it. "I think it's blood. Are you sure that you're all right?"
"Yes, I am. You're not the only doctor around here, are you?"
"Sorry, dear. I was just worried. Is a nice cappuccino apology enough?" He went straight to the kitchen.
"No, Robert, it's okay, really! I'll make us something hot to drink, just sit down!"
But he had already reached the kitchen. And again, Tally breathed a sigh of relief, for Splinter apparently was not there.
But where could he be? He was definitely in no condition to walk and even if it were so, he couldn't get that far. She must stop Robert from walking around the entire house!
"Rob, please, not that I'm not glad to see you, but it's a really bad time. Would you please go and come back tomorrow? I really have no time at the moment, I´m pretty busy!"
"Busy? You´re here on vacation, remember? I came all the way from the city just to see you, sweetheart. You know what a fight it is to close to practice for only a few hours. And now you send me away?"
He looked at her, smiling warmly, and her resistance melted like butter in the sun. Maybe she should tell him.
"You send me away, alone in the cold, cruel rain," he continued, "and you let me starve; you don't even offer me a cappuccino…"
She couldn't help herself and snorted with laughter.
"Okay, okay, you win. I suppose one cappuccino will be possible. Just go back in the living room, I´ll finish it."
He was halfway across the floor, when he suddenly stopped, a startled look in his face.
"What was that?"
"Hmmm?" Tally called from behind him.
"There. In your sleeping room. I heard a sound."
He looked at Tally, suspiciously.
"Is there anybody in? Was that the reason why you wanted to send me away?"
"Rob…" she couldn't look in his face. "It's not like you think. I found a hurt… animal yesterday. It has been injured in the storm and I've been caring for it."
He looked still very distrustful.
"A hurt animal, eh?"
Tally nodded.
"Yes, but…DON´T OPEN THAT DOOR!"
"Why not if it's just 'a hurt animal'?" Robert looked very sad. "I thought you would trust me more, Tally. If you want to cancel our relationship, you can say it. I thought we would always be honest with each other. But maybe it's good that we can set things straight right now before we get into our relationship any deeper."
"Robert! Really! You must believe me. It's not like you think."
"No? Then let me just say your guest that he won't have to fear rivalry any longer!"
He laid his hand on the doorknob, turned it- ignoring Tally's worried face- opened the door- and saw nothing. Tally breathed a sigh of relief, but unfortunately Robert noticed it. "So somebody was here, hmmm? Or somebody is still here. Aha!"
The blanket over the bed was crumpled up, as if it had been hastily pulled aside. Robert dragged the blanket from the bed, tossed it on the floor, knelt down and peered under the bed. First he saw nothing-- and then, a furry heap.
"Another blanket?"
Tally clenched her teeth.
"Robert…"
He grabbed at the "blanket", but it MOVED AWAY!
"Uuuaaaahhhhh!" Still on his knees, he jumped backward. "What…what…WHAT IS IT?"
Tally sighed.
"I told you I found someone yesterday, but animal is not quite the right description, you know."
She knelt down to help Splinter crawl from under the bed. It was an impressive effort, she thought, for him to come the whole way from the living room to her bedroom, and in his condition! Probably he had crawled on all fours...
She tried to help him to stand up, but he sank down immediately. His eyes were closed and he breathed heavily. She more or less dragged him into to bed and pushed the blanket over him. Meanwhile, Robert managed to regain his composure.
"That is unbelievable! Tally, were did you find it? What kind of creature exactly is it? Was that its blood on the blanket? So it has red blood--"
"ROBERT!" Tally went angry. "He is no dumb animal! He does understand every word you say. His name is Splinter and he is an intelligent living being! You have no right to speak in this way about him!" she said, ignoring her memory of the thoughts she'd had when she'd first seen him.
"Splinter? You mean it, ähm, he can speak?"
Tally sat down at the side of the bed. She looked into Splinter's face. His eyes were open now, but it was obvious that he would lose the fight against sleep soon. He slightly shook his head.
"Not at the moment. He has some kind of bronchitis and a few other injuries. Better to let him sleep."
She stood up, took Robert's hand and tried to pull him out of the room.
But Robert was as fascinated now as he had been frightened before.
"Have you told anybody about him?"
"No, I haven't. Come out of there!"
Finally she managed to pull him out of the room. She closed the door and they both went to the living room in silence. Then Robert spoke again.
"Tally, that's our big chance in there! We could make a fortune out of him! I have a cousin, he works for a big circus--"
"You don't really want to…" Tally was speechless. "Haven't you listened to me? He's no freak or monstrosity!"
"Tally, just think about it. This was a gift from above."
"NO! No more words about it!"
"But Tally, I…"
"OUT! Out of my house! How can you suggest this? He does not look like it, but he is human! Go! Immediately! And don't come back again!"
She stood up and pointed at the door. Her whole body was trembling. She NEVER thought that her tender-hearted Robert could be that cruel!
Robert nodded and walked to the door.
"You will regret this, my dear."
Then he was gone.
Tally sat down; shaken and trembling, she started to cry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Splinter woke up. It took a while to gather his thoughts in the dark room. Then he remembered. Not the living room any more, but Tally's bedroom. Vaguely he asked himself were she was sleeping now. He cuddled himself in the pillows. His body, especially his head, did still hurt very much, but he thought that his fever was sinking. At least he was able to finally think. He was slowly drifting off into slumber again when he suddenly heard a noise outside.
Someone was out there; had turned the doorknob.
Surely Tally, he assumed, half asleep.
Suddenly the light was switched on, blinding him. He raised one arm to cover his face, but someone grabbed him, pulled him out of the bed and twisted his unbroken arm behind his back. Splinter whined in pain. He heard a voice speaking-- it reminded him of the voice of Tally's previous visitor.
"Have I promised you to much?"
Another voice.
"This is fantastic! All agreed. Ten thousand now and twenty percent of the gains. We'll make a fortune, I guarantee! Where exactly did you find this creature? There will be no one else suddenly claiming rights to it, will there?"
"No, don't worry! My girlfriend found it out there. It was nearly dead. You'll have to be a little bit careful with it, it's hurt, but it'll make it. Tally first wanted to keep it, but finally she agreed that it would be better this way. After all, it could be dangerous."
The man who held Splinter nodded.
"We'll be careful. Just tell me again if you find something else like this!"
Splinters heart sank! He had thought he could trust her, and she had sold him out!
And she knows about his family! Desperately he tried to break free.
"Hey! This beast is pretty strong!"
Splinter managed to free his arm, but he fell immediately to the floor, still weak with injury and illness. The man behind him set his knee on his back and pinned him to the floor. He couldn't react as the man hit his head so hard that he nearly fainted.
Vaguely he eventually noticed that his hands and feet were shackled. Two men lifted him like a sack of potatoes and carried him out of the house. Outside a van was parked. They quickly stashed him into the back, and drove away.
Even if Splinter could manage to get his hands free, there would be no way out of this prison. The van was barred from the inside and smelled like wild animal.
So Splinter huddled up as good as he could and surrendered to his fate-- for the time being.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Puh, finally ready with this chapter! Needed much more time than I thought. Please please please review, I need the encouragement!