Thanks again for all the great reviews. Here is the next part. I hope you like it.
Don closed the cell and finally let himself slump into a chair, resting his head warily in his hands. Tonight had been one of the worst nights of his life. His entire body was exhausted and ached from numerous bruises from the fight earlier in the night. But that was the least of it. His oldest brother had almost died right in front of him. Tonight was the closest he and his brothers had ever come to losing another. He had never felt a fear as great as the feeling he felt when he watched his brother's breaths cease. Recalling it even now made Don's breath hitch and caused a lump form in his throat. He knew they needed to get Leo down to the safety of the storage room, and he and his other brothers also had wounds that needed tending, but Don couldn't bring himself to move. His arms and legs felt like lead weights holding him still in his agony.
A light touch to his shoulder roused him from his dazed thoughts. He looked up and saw April looking at him with worry etched on her delicate features. He tried to grace her with a small smile, but couldn't bring himself to fake it. She squeezed his shoulder, then knelt down next to him.
"Is Splinter coming?" She asked softly.
"Yeah." Don answered, surprised by how shaky his voice sounded. "Yeah he's on his way. I couldn't bring myself to tell him how severe it was over the phone, but by his voice, I think he knew."
"Splinter tends to know more than anyone else." April said. "It wouldn't surprise me if he already felt that something bad had happened."
Don let out a pained laugh. "Yeah, no keeping anything from him." He said, the small joke sounding hollow and empty.
"We have to get him moved soon." April said softly.
Don nodded. He knew that, but he just needed a minute to collect his thoughts and let his body and mind rest before being thrust back into the frightening reality of their situation. He allowed himself to scan the room, seeing both Mikey and Raph sitting next to their injured brother. Mike had barely spoken since finding Leo in the ally. Don knew Mikey was terrified, but he still had not been able to be any comfort to him. Raph, Don knew, was devastated by overwhelming guilt. He could see it in his brother's eyes and manors. Raph had still not let go of Leo's good hand and Don had yet to see Raph move his eyes away from their brother's face.
Don let out another long breath. He was trying to be the strong one in Leo's stead. He knew he would have to be the one that kept it together for the sake of his family. But it was hard, especially with the horrible pain and fear that was eating at his insides. He didn't know what to do, something that didn't happen to him very often. He swallowed hard.
Finally he made himself stand and take control once more. He knew if he didn't push his brothers into action, they would sit there all night, not caring about discovery. He tightened his resolve and walked over to his siblings, laying a hand on Raph's shoulder.
"Splinter is on his way. We have to start moving supplies to the basement." He said, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice. At first he thought Raph and Mikey didn't hear him, but then Raph nodded weakly, and allowed himself to let go of Leo's hand.
Once Raph and Mikey had moved away from Leo's side, Don and Sarah put them to work, instructing them on the materials, medicines, and other things they would need for Don to continue Leo's care. As the boys and April quietly carried the stuff to what would be their new temporary home, Sarah rechecked Leo's vitals, making sure that he was finally stable, at least for now. Leo's face had already gained back some color and his heart rate had begun to slow thanks to the blood given by Raph. She felt comforted in finally seeing some improvement in his condition, but the poor turtle was far from being out of the woods. She bent down to carefully listen to his lungs and heart.
"Leonardo…" a pained aged voice breathed from behind her. She turned and found herself speechless once again as she saw a large old rat, at least four feet tall and dressed in a deep red kimono, making his way, as quickly as his aged body would allow him, to the injured turtle's side. She found herself taking a few steps back in fear, her mouth hanging open as the rat drew closer, but she realized quickly that he only had eyes for the prone form in front of him, taking no notice of her. She heard movement behind her and saw Don had emerged from the basement. He briskly walked over to the rat.
"Sensei," he said in a soft voice. Behind him Mikey and Raph were also coming from the basement and making their way to the old rat's side.
"What has happened?" the rat whispered, his voice faultering. He moved a clawed hand toward Leo, placing it gently and lovingly atop the turtle's forehead. He had felt that something had gone awry in the night, but never could he have guessed it would be this bad. His son looked as though he was only a few steps from death's door. He lifted his dark eyes to his other son's faces, beckoning them to answer.
Don, once again realizing he would have to stay strong, answered his father. He explained about the search, and about the run in with the Purple Dragons. He could only guess what had happened to Leo since he had not been there, but as Raph did not seem keen to speak on the matter yet, Don tried to fill in the gaps for his father.
Splinter listened silently, allowing his eyes to wander back to his eldest son. It seemed there was a rare part of his body that was not covered in bandages or casts. His green skin was pale and clammy. But worst of all was the ventilator and tube hooked to his son's lungs, indicating his boy could not breathe on his own. Splinter had never seen one of his sons so injured and it pained him deeply.
He looked back at his other sons, and saw Raph quickly look away, unable to meet his gaze. He could feel the deep guilt and anger in his second oldest and made a note to himself to talk with him later. Splinter then heard movement from across the table and looked up, seeing a blonde doctor in blue scrubs for the first time. He had been so focused on his family that he had failed to notice the stranger before. Don seemed to pick up on this, and cleared his throat.
"Sensei, this is Dr. Sarah Smith. She is a friend of April's and the doctor that works here. She has helped keep Leo alive." Splinter eyed her, slightly weary. She gave him a small smile, a slight blush hitting her cheeks due to his intense gaze. Don continued with the introductions. "Sarah this is our Master Splinter. He raised us."
Sarah took a deep breath, once again finding herself speechless. But she overcame her slight fear and held out her hand to him with another small smile. "It's nice to meet you." Splinter reached out his hand tentatively and took hers, shaking it, seeming to decide that she was trustworthy.
"Leo is too unstable to move home, and Sarah has offered the storage basement of her clinic for us to stay in until Leo has a chance to heal further. She assures us it will be safe. We will have plenty of supplies to care for him there, and Sarah and I will be able to help keep up with his care." Don explained, waiting for Splinter's response on the matter. He knew he should have explained all of this to Splinter earlier, but hadn't had the strength to on the phone before.
Splinter was silent for a few moments in thought. He then raised his eyes back to Sarah's, a small smile finally showing itself on his face. "Dr. Smith, it seems my family and I owe you a great thanks for the kindness you have shown us and the help you have provided my son." He said softly. "We will forever be in your debt."
Sarah found herself blushing slightly again from the sincerity she heard in his voice. She returned the smile. "It was no problem at all. I was glad to help."
"It's time for us to move him down to the basement." Don said nervously. "There was an old couch down there that I cleaned up, we can put him on that." Splinter nodded and moved away and allowed his sons to carefully lift his unconscious son's body with the help of the blanket. Sarah and April grabbed the ventilator machine.
"We will have to do this quickly. I will have to unhook him from the oxygen in order to move him." Sarah explained. "Let's get him down there as quickly and carefully as possible." The three brothers nodded, and Sarah undid the oxygen. They rushed their brother down to the basement and carefully laid him down on the old dusty couch that Don had covered with a soft clean sheet. Sarah quickly took the ventilator and plugged it back in, hooking the turtle back up to oxygen. The machine rumbled back to life and seconds later Leo was once again breathing rhythmically.
Splinter scanned the old basement. There was a lot of space, but much of it was filled with large dusty boxes, old medical equipment, and some other pieces of old dusty furniture. He saw an old T.V. in the corner covered in cobwebs and hoped silently that it worked. This place would be a decent place to stay for awhile, but he knew they needed some things from home as well to make the space more comfortable for himself and his sons. He looked back over at the couch where they had placed Leo and saw Don and Sarah bent over him, checking to make sure he was alright after the move. His other two sons were standing next to each other silently, each looked unsure of what to do. Splinter slowly made his way to their sides and placed a soft hand on Mike's. He saw his youngest son jump at the unexpected contact.
"We are going to need things from home if we are going to stay here for any extended period." Splinter explained to them softly. "I will need you boys to go home and gather some things. Blankets, pillows, food, things to keep yourselves occupied."
"No Sensei," Raph suddenly exclaimed. "No, I don't want to leave…"
"Raphael." Splinter spoke, softly, but with firmness that indicated no arguments were to be tolerated. "I need you and Michelangelo to do this for me. Donatello must stay here and tend to your brother. I need you boys to do this. It should not take long and we will not leave Leonardo alone for a moment while you are gone."
Raph looked ready to argue again, but a hard look from Splinter silenced him. "Yes, Sensei." He managed, obviously not happy, but willing to do as his father asked if it meant helping Leo in some way.
"We have about three hours before the clinic opens," April explained, "we can take my van to get there quickly and to load everything up in." She saw Raph and Mike nod, but neither spoke. "Alright, let's get going."
Splinter watched his two boys leave with April, then made his way over to his injured son's side. He took Leo's hand, and blocking out the sounds of movement from Dr. Smith and Don around him, he began to meditate.
Raph, Mike, and April entered the cold and empty lair about a half hour later. All three stood silently for a few moments until Raph broke the silence, eager to get this over with and get back to Leo as soon as possible.
"Ok, let's do this quick. Mikey, go start gathering some food to tide us over for now. April, if you could go to Don's lab and get him the things he said he needed. I'll go to the rooms and get the blankets." They all scattered quickly at his instructions.
Raph moved from room to room, gathering blankets and pillows for his brothers and Splinter, and as he came across them also grabbed some books, music, and other things he thought his brother's might want. As he finished up, he began to move the things he gathered out into the main room to join with the piles of things that April and Mikey had also grabbed. It was then he realized he hadn't gone into Leo's room. Maybe bringing blankets and pillows for his brother from his own room would help him feel more comfortable in the strange basement and help with his recovery. Raph was comforted by that thought and made his way down the hall to where his brother usually slept.
He slowly entered the dark room and quickly flipped on the lamp Leo kept as his bedside. The room was illuminated in a soft light and Raph took a look around. Leo's room was always clean and well kept, and this time was no different. Raph smiled slightly. Looking at the normal order of his brother's room, you could almost imagine that everything was ok, that there had never been a fight, that Leo was probably just in the dojo down the hall warming up for the morning workout. But Raph knew that wasn't the case, that his brother was back in a strange basement in a hospital barely grasping onto life. A lump began to form in Raph's throat and he struggled to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall all night. Now was not the time to lose it. He needed to get this stuff together and get back to his brother's side. Raph swallowed hard, then began to gather things from the room. He grabbed his brother's pillow, and a few books for if Leo woke up. 'When,' Raph corrected himself. 'For when Leo wakes up.' He nodded his head resolutely and continued.
He moved to the bed and carefully pulled his brother's blue blankets off the mattress, lifting the mattress to untuck the edges. He almost missed the small glint of gold that reflected the light from the lamp as he lowered the mattress back to the frame. Raph, curious, lifted the mattress once again, and saw a large black book stored deeply under the mattress on which his brother slept. Raph reached under and grabbed the book and examined his find. The book was plain, a thick black binding holding the pages together. The edges of the pages between were flecked with gold, which, Raph thought, must have been what reflected the light. He stared at it for a moment, not sure of what it was. He then allowed himself to open up the front cover. In a neat, flowing writing that Raph recognized as his oldest brother's, the words 'Leo's thoughts' were written across the first page. Raph took a deep breath, realizing what this book was. This was Leo's diary. Raph had never known that Leo had kept a diary. He stood for an unknown amount of time, silently staring at the front cover of the book, curiosity overwhelming his thoughts and a deep desire to read the pages within taking hold.
A sudden movement from behind him caused him to quickly toss the book under the blankets that he had been gathering for Leo. He turned and saw April entering. "Are you about ready to go?" she asked softly. Raph nodded and gathered up Leo's blanket and pillow, the diary still buried within.
He followed April out into the common room, seeing Mikey standing behind a pile of things they had gathered to take with them. In one box he saw Mikey's X-box packed haphazardly among other things. Mikey grinned sheepishly under Raph's exasperated look. "What? Splinter said we needed things to entertain ourselves…"
April, Mikey, and Raph had managed to get everything loaded into the van in one trip, and with only an hour before the clinic opened, they were rushing back to the clinic as fast as they could go. When they got there, they began to quickly unload everything and carry it down to the basement.
When Raph made it to the bottom of the stairs, he dropped the supplies in a pile on the floor and rushed over to Leo's side, looking at Don for answers. "Is he ok??" He asked quickly.
Don nodded. "He hasn't changed at all since you left."
Raph let out a loud, exasperated sigh, then, with a loud growl he violently punched a stack of boxes, knocking them noisily to the floor. He sank slowly into a chair and buried his face into his hands, taking deep shuddering breaths, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him.
Don stood frozen, unsure of what to do in response to Raph's sudden outburst. He looked down at Raph with worry in his eyes, kneeling down by his brother and laying a hand silently on his shoulder.
"He's going to die, isn't he?" Raph sputtered, sounding as though he was close to crying.
"Don't say that Raph, Leo has a chance. You have to have hope that he is strong enough to pull through this." Don said softly.
"But what if he isn't?" Raph asked, looking at Donny with wide eyes. "God, how could I have said what I did. What if those are the last words I ever get to say to him?"
Don suddenly understood where Raph's deep sorrow was coming from. He was deeply worried that he would never have a chance to take back the words he had thrown at Leo the night before. It seemed like forever ago that that fight had taken place. Was it really only last night? Don shook those thoughts and returned his gaze to his brother. "We got Leo breathing again, and you gave Leo blood, it is already helping him get better. We just need to keep up hope. Don't lose hope Raph, and stop blaming yourself." He said softly, hoping that Raph was taking what he had to say to heart.
Raph let out a sigh and quickly wiped at his eyes, then looked over at Splinter, who was in deep meditation over Leo's body. "What is he doing?" He asked Don, changing the subject.
"He's been like that since you left." Don explained tiredly, taking the hint that Raph was done talking about Leo's condition. "I think he's trying to reach Leo's mind through meditation."
Raph nodded, hopeful that Splinter would have luck. He felt a sharp pain in his arm and looked over, glaring at Don who was prodding a large cut on his arm. "What are you doing?" he asked, annoyed.
"Now that you guys are back, we need to see to our own injuries." Don explained. "That looks like a nasty gash on your arm. Not to mention the large welt you have on your head." Raph glared at him and was about to argue that his injuries didn't matter, but Don's sharp look silenced him and he allowed his brainy brother to do what he must. "You need to get cleaned up too," Don added softly after bandaging Raph's arm. Raph looked down and realized for the first time he was covered in blood, Leo's blood. Raph felt bile rise in his throat, and quickly swallowed it down. He looked at Don and Mikey and realized they too were covered in blood that probably wasn't their own. He nodded in acknowledgement, planning on worrying about that later, and watched as Don moved to Mikey to take care of him.
Raph looked over at his sensei who was still in deep meditation. Now would be the perfect time to relocate the diary he had hidden in the blankets. He moved over to them and unwrapped Leo's blanket, once again revealing the unmarked black diary. A feeling of guilt settled in his stomach as he quietly held the book in his hands. Part of him knew this wasn't right, that he should respect his brother's privacy. But another part of him wanted to know what went through his brother's head, a part that wanted to understand his brother better, and that part won out as Raph took the book and slid it into his own blankets without anyone taking notice.
He began to unpack the things that he and Mikey brought over. He took the blanket and pillow he got from Leo's room and carried it over to his brother. He carefully lifted Leo's head and tenderly placed his pillow under, then took the blanket and draped it over his sibling's body, tucking it around him. This movement must have jolted Splinter from his thoughts, for he looked at Raph with bleary eyes as if he just noticed Raph was there.
"When did you boys get back?" he asked, a bit dazed.
"A few minutes ago," Raph answered softly. "Sensei? Did you get through to him?" he asked hopefully. But he was discouraged by Splinter's look of disappointment.
"No," he said softly. "It seems that his mind is shutting me out. But I will keep trying."
Raph nodded, afraid to ask more. He looked over and saw April moving over to him. She then wrapped him in a tender hug. "I have to slip out before clinic employees begin to show up, but I will be back tonight as soon as I can." He didn't answer, but nodded in response, then watched as she quickly made her way up the stairs and disappeared.
It wasn't long before the brothers heard sounds coming from above. It seemed that employees were arriving to start the day. Raph leaned over Leo's prone form, putting his lips close to his brother's ear. "Hang on Leo," he whispered in a voice that was barely audible even to himself. "Please…" He then shakily leaned back and made himself comfortable next to Leo's side.
Today was going to be a long day.