6.

The first thing he became aware of was the faint scent of cold pizza in the air. April and Casey promised to bring us back a pie after their date. Hope the microwave isn't on the fritz again. I really not in the mood for cold pizza …

He went to open his eyes, but the freakin' sun itself was apparently right over top of him, and blinded him. He instinctively reached an arm up to shield his face, and hissed as fire burst from his shoulder. Okay, bad idea. He gently lowered his arm back down, wincing.

"Mikey?" a familiar voice asked softly.

He knew it was one of his brothers, but he couldn't place it. Man, the poison must have screwed with his brain or something. Oh crap, what if he couldn't tell the good comics from the bad ones anymore?

"Hey, Mikey." A hand rested on his uninjured shoulder. Ah, it was definitely Don. So his brain was just a little slower than normal.

"I'm not dead?" he rasped.

His brother chuckled. "Not quite. You did come pretty close, though. I don't suppose you saw a light at the end of a tunnel?"

"Can't say I did. Can you turn the lights down? I'd love to keep my retinas intact."

As the light slowly dimmed, he heard movement somewhere close by. The shuffling of feet across the floor that hadn't been swept in a while—damn, he was supposed to do that, wasn't he? Maybe Leo would cut him some slack.

There was a soft, relieved sigh from somewhere close by. Probably Leo. Raph didn't sigh, like, ever.

"He's awake?" That was Raph. His voice betrayed how tired he must feel.

"Told you it would be sometime today." Don, the scientist and the seer.

"How long was I out?" he asked, finally glancing down the room.

His brothers came into his line of sight. Each one looked exhausted, but calm. Raph still had a touch of annoyance on his face. Well, it wouldn't be Raph if he wasn't slightly pissed off.

"About a day and a half," Don answered. "We almost lost you, bro."

He smiled weakly. "Nah, never. I'm too handsome to die."

None of his brothers smiled. Donny continued. "The fall jarred your spine and dislocated your shoulder. You've probably got a few broken ribs too, but I can't tell for sure."

"I'm sorry." What else could he say?

"Don't be." Leo cut in abruptly. "You did a really good job, Mikey. None of us could have asked for anyone better."

Was he hearing right? He had been ready for a Leo Lecture, scolding him for being reckless with his life. Apparently not. He was to be praised for a good job. Go figure. Maybe he should get poisoned more often.

"Yeah, well. You guys saved me. So we're even." He tried and failed to stifle a yawn. Why was he so tired? He'd barely been awake for ten minutes.

Don smiled. "Your body needs rest, Mikey. God knows it's been through hell and back."

"Yeah …" Mikey's eyelids drooped. "There'd better be cake when I wake up."

The brothers chuckled. "I'll see what I can do," Raph answered as his youngest brother's eyes closed.

Don sighed. "Good. He'll be up in a few days, fine by the end of the month."

"Good call, Donny." Leo placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I was worried there might be some kind of disease in that syringe."

"It was a risk we had to take." Don stumbled. "Whoops. Guess I need some rest, too."

"We all do." Raph yawned and stretched. "I could sleep for a week."

"This family …"

The three brothers whirled around at the weak voice. Mikey's eyes were still closed, but his mouth moved, his words jumbled by the onset of sleep.

"This family … my favourite disease … the way you kill me … heal me …"

A loud snore signalled the end of the strange statement. Leo, Raph and Don glanced at each other, and smiled. It was time for rest and recuperation. Who could tell what tomorrow would bring?

Sometimes I feel like a monster
And times I feel like a saint
I'm on my knees
You're my favourite disease
And I love the way you kill me
Love the way you heal me

- Thousand Foot Krutch

A/N: Well ... it is a Sunday, right?

Sorry for the super long delay. The weekend I was supposed to finish this, I came down with a bad fever. I did end up writing this chapter, but thank heaven I had the presence of mind not to post it. It was a NeoCitran-fuelled disaster.

Also, I took a week off writing anything - fanfiction, original fiction, essays - to mourn the passing of my idol, Brian Jacques. His Redwall series (Martin the Warrior in particular) was what inspired me to write in the first place. So it was a sad, sad day when I found out.