Eve was lying motionless on the floor. Don rushed to her side, careful not to step on any broken glass. She was out cold, but luckily it appeared she didn't have any glass embedded in her skin. Don knew he should get the glass cleaned up so he—or more importantly the twins—would not step on it and get hurt, but he had to try to get Eve to come to. "Come on Eve," he said as he knelt over her and patted the side of her face, "please, wake up." After a few moments, which felt like an eternity to Don, he saw her eyes start to flutter. "Eve?" he said hoping to draw her further into consciousness.
She grimaced and softly moaned in pain before attempting to open her eyes. "Don?" she asked quietly as she slowly managed to get her eyes about half way open, slightly squinting.
"Yeah, it's me." He responded while caressing her cheek.
She tried to get her eyes to focus in order to see Don's face, but all she could see were swirling colors. She quickly shut her eyes tight, willing the dizziness and throbbing in her head to subside.
"Make it stop...please…make it stop." She mumbled.
"What? Make what stop, Eve?" Don asked as he noticed the color in Eve's face was starting to pale considerably.
"Dizzy." she forced out. "So, dizzy." She hissed in pain as she held her hand to the side of her forehead.
Don gently pulled her hand back, and looked at it. His eyes widened 'Blood.' He reached up and very carefully brushed her bangs back. Again she let out a small hiss of pain. "Oh, Eve." he lamented almost inaudibly. There on the right side of her temple was a nasty cut, and the bruised skin surrounding it had already darkened into a purplish color. She was certainly going to have a big bump on her head for a while. "Daddy?" A little voice pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up and there were the twins standing in the doorway with worry in their faces. Yoshi started to move forward, but Don was quick to stop him. "Stay right there you two." he said firmly, "Don't come in here." 'How long had they been standing there?' he thought.
"What's wrong with Mommy?" Tori asked with concern.
"Mommy is sick, and Daddy needs you two to stay back at the door so you don't get hurt on the broken glass." Don tried to explain gently, but firmly. 'Great. Now how do I get Eve fixed up, clean up the water and broken glass; and manage to keep an eye on the twins simultaneously in the process?' Don thought to himself. It was then that Don heard a voice drift in from another room. "Hello? Donnie? Eve? Anybody?" Don took a moment to recognize the voice. 'Leo.' He mentally sighed in relief. 'Talk about perfect timing.' "In here, Leo!" he called out to his brother.
Leo's footsteps could be heard coming through the next room. "You're all awfully quiet this morning. Some—Donnie, what happened?" Leo asked, eyes wide as he took in the scene before him.
"Momma's sick." Yoshi chimed in.
"Broken glass." Tori added.
Leo looked down at his niece and nephew, who were just in front of him, then back to his brother. "I don't have time to explain right now, Leo," Don started, "but could you?" he made a small motion in reference to Yoshi and Tori.
"Uh…yeah, sure." Leo said, taking the hint. "Yoshi, Tori, come with me. It's time for your ninjitsu lesson."
Yoshi started to object, "But Momma-"
"Will be just fine." Don interjected firmly. "Now go with Uncle Leo, and be good."
Something resembling a pout appeared on Yoshi's face, "Yes, Daddy." Leo then led to two little ones out of the room, and toward the dojo.
'Now to get back to the task at hand.' Don thought as he got up to get a cloth to stop the bleeding. He pressed it against Eve's wound, and she gasped. "Eve? I need you to hold this cloth on your forehead while I clean up the water and broken glass that's on the floor." He brought her hand up to the cloth as he spoke. "Can you do that for me?" he asked, making sure she understood.
There was some silence before she replied. "Yes." she muttered.
"Good. Now just try to relax." Don cleaned up the shards of glass and the water, then, returned back to Eve's side. He pulled back her hand and the cloth to see if the bleeding had stopped. 'Still some slight bleeding. Probably going to need a couple of stitches.' he thought as he looked at the injury. "Now, Eve…I'm going to maneuver you into a sitting up position. Okay?"
"Okay." Came the quiet reply.
Don carefully put his arm under her, and lifted her up. She groaned at the motion, and Don saw that she was getting paler. She was obviously in no condition to walk as she couldn't even manage to sit up without leaning heavily against him, not to mention that she still had her eyes tightly shut, so he would have to carry her. He scooped her up in his arms and made his way to their bedroom. He laid her down on the bed before retrieving the first aid kit. By the time Don had returned, Eve was unconscious again. He treated and bandaged the wound, then, pulled a chair up next to the head of the bed. He grabbed a book off the night stand, sat down, and began to read.
About an hour or so had past when Don heard a soft knock on the door. Leo was standing in the open doorway. Don got up and walked over to him. "Hey, Donnie…how is she?"
"She's out cold. A nasty cut and bruising on the one side of her forehead, but other than that she seems to be okay."
"What happened?"
Don shook his head slightly, "I'm not exactly sure. She looked exhausted when we got up this morning. When she finally came out for breakfast, she said she wasn't feeling well, and went into the kitchen for some medicine. Next thing I knew there was the sound of glass breaking, and some sort of crashing sound. I found her lying on the floor, and well…you basically know the story from there."
"Any idea what the cause of her illness might be?"
Again Don shook his head as he looked in Eve's direction, "No. She did mention something about feeling dizzy, but it could just as easily be linked to her recent depression. Either way there's not much I can do until she comes to again."
Leo gave him a quizzical look, "Depression? What are you talking about?"
"Eve's been feeling kind of homesick you might say…you know, for her old home. I hadn't picked up on it until a couple of days ago, although there were signs of it weeks ago."
"Odd…she seemed fine to me the last several times I saw her."
"That's because she's been doing everything she can to keep up appearances to everyone." Don sighed, "Even to me. I just didn't see past it until I saw her with the twins the other day." Suddenly realization hit Don. "Leo, where are Yoshi and Tori?"
"They're playing with the other kids in the main section of the lair. Master Splinter's keeping an eye on them. I just wanted to check and make sure everything was okay before I brought Yoshi and Tori back. I figured the last thing you needed were two worried kids underfoot, if things weren't quite under control here with Eve."
"Thanks, I appreciate that." Don started to walk back to Eve's bedside to check on her, and Leo followed.
"Kind of pale, isn't she?" Leo commented looking over Don's shoulder.
"Yes, she—" Don stopped short as he touched Eve's cheek, and then put his hand against her forehead.
"Donnie? What is it?"
Don looked back at Leo, "Fever. She's burning up."
"I'll go get some cold water." Leo said as he turned and made his way out of the room. Shortly thereafter he returned with a bowl of water and a cloth, and handed it to Don.
"Thanks, Leo." Don said as he dipped the cloth in the water, and then applied it to Eve's forehead. It took nearly an hour before Don was able to finally bring her fever down, and Leo had stayed in case Don would have needed him to get anything. Before they knew it, it was lunch time.
Leo squeezed Don's shoulder. "Come on, we should go get something to eat."
"Leo, I can't just leave her alone."
"She should be fine for a few minutes, but if it makes you feel better I'll stay here with her until you get back."
"No, it's okay, Leo. I'm not hungry anyway."
"Donatello, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You said yourself that there's no telling when she'll regain consciousness, and knowing you you'll stay at her bedside without food or sleep until she does—which could take days. Besides, in case you forgot, you also have two kids that need you."
Don sighed, "Okay, you're right. I'll go." Don checked on Eve one more time before heading for the doorway with Leo. Don hesitated at the door and looked back, "But only for a few minutes."
…..
By the end of that day, Eve still hadn't regained consciousness. Over the next few days, Don was hard pressed to leave Eve's side for any length of time, as she continued to become feverish off and on nearly every day. Everyone helped out as much as they could, especially where the twins were concerned. Whenever anyone did manage to pry Don away from Eve's side, he would either run some tests to try and determine the cause of her sickness; or spend some time with his kids. As a precaution—since they had no idea if Eve was contagious or not, Yoshi and Tori were kept away from their mother, and they were not taking it well.
It was the middle of the night. Don had fallen asleep with his one arm hanging down over the side of the bed. Suddenly he felt a small tug on his arm "Daddy?" Don blinked a few times before looking down to see Yoshi with tears streaming down his face, and a teddy bear in his arms.
"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" Don asked as he picked him up and pulled him close.
Yoshi sniffled, and stretched one small arm out towards his mother's unconscious form on the other side of the bed. "Want Momma." he sobbed
Don's heart sank. Eve had been unconscious for a week now, and in that time he had repeatedly denied the twins' requests to see their mother, explaining to them that she was very sick. The disappointment that shown on their faces each time he explained the situation to them was enough to tell him that the twins were upset about it. Don sighed, "I'm sorry, buddy, but you know you can't be near Mommy until she's better." 'Or at the very least, conscious.' he thought.
Yoshi looked up at his father with big, tearful, begging baby-blue eyes as he continued to reach his arm out toward his mother. Don looked over at Eve. Then, while keeping one arm securely around his son to keep him from jumping out of his arms, he reached over with the other to touch Eve's forehead. 'No fever. Perhaps it would be alright to let him curl up next to her for a while. At the very least it might calm him down.' He looked back at his son, and gently wiped away his tears. "Shh…alright, buddy. I'll let you sleep here next to Mommy, but just for tonight. Okay?" Yoshi nodded. Don put Yoshi down on the bed, and watched as he crawled over to Eve. He laid his head on the side of her stomach, with one little arm laying next to his face. Don covered his son with a blanket, and Yoshi snuggled closer to his mother. Don then gently rubbed his son's shell until he was sure his little one had fallen asleep. For a while, Don watched his son sleep, as he sat there in deep thought. 'I have to do something to fix this. I know that. The only problem is I've tried everything, and so far nothing has worked.' Suddenly a thought struck him. 'Everything…except...hmm, maybe that's the answer.'
Morning came, Don had quickly gotten the twins up and ready for their ninjitsu lesson, while regularly checking in on Eve. When Leo came to collect the little ones for their lesson, Don requested that he and his other brothers meet with him in his lab after the children were done with their training. Somewhat surprised by the request, Leo agreed that he would get Mikey and Raph; and they would meet him at the appointed place and time. When the three brothers arrived at the lab, they discovered that their other brother seemed to be packing up some equipment.
"Uh, Donnie…what are you doing?" Leo asked confused.
"Oh, hey guys. Just packing up some equipment I'll need." Don replied as he finished packing up one gadget and joined the rest of the group.
"Why? Ya plan on goin' somewhere, brainiac?" Raph inquired as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Don shifted somewhat anxiously, dreading the oncoming conversation, but he had to let the rest of his family know what he was up to. "Yes, I'm taking Eve and the twins up to the farmhouse for a while. I plan on leaving tonight."
"What?" Mikey asked surprised.
"You can't be serious!" Raph interjected.
"Donnie, what are you thinking? You can't possibly keep constant watch over Eve and take care of your kids and everything else up there at the same time all by yourself. You haven't even been able to handle all of that here without our help. And what about the kids' training? They'll fall behind the rest—"
"I'm thinking it could be the key to bringing Eve back to a conscious state of mind, Leo."
Leo looked at him doubtfully, "Donnie, that's—"
"The only thing I haven't tried." Don cut in. "Come on guys, you know I've tried everything, and none of it has made any difference in her condition—even the blood tests I've done haven't given me any sort of insight as to the cause of her illness. I figure that maybe if I get her into a different environment there might be a chance that her subconscious will pick up on it, and she'll finally wake up again. And I'll take care of everything, including Yoshi and Tori's training while we're gone."
Leo shook his head slowly, "That's a big maybe, Donnie."
"Yeah, bro, I mean no offense or nothin', but you're not exactly a super hero, and even super heroes have their limits, you know. Oww!" Mikey exclaimed as Raph smacked him upside the head.
"I think what our crazy brother is tryin' ta say is that you're gettin' yourself in way over your shell, bro."
"Guys, I've thought it all through, and I've figured out a way I can make it work."
"Oh, really," Raph said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice, "and how is that?"
"I've got a special monitor to hook up to Eve that will let me know of any change in her body temperature, brain wave activity, or movement via my tech tab. Of course, I'll still check in on her at regular intervals and what-not, but when I'm with the twins I'll keep an eye on her with the monitor."
"I don't know, Donnie," Leo said with uncertainty as he crossed his arms, "I still think this is a bad idea, but if you insist on going to the farm house I think you should at least take someone else with you."
"No, it wouldn't be right to take any of you guys away from your own families. You all have little ones—most of which are younger than mine, and then you also have the training lessons to take care of, Leo. Besides, I plan on staying up there for a while after Eve wakes up. I want to make sure she is fully recuperated before we come back home."
"How long of a while, Donnie?" Mikey asked.
"A few months most likely." Don replied. "I've already talked things over with Master Splinter. If I find myself feeling like I'm in over my head, I'll call. I'll also keep you guys posted with what's going on via shell cell."
His brothers looked at each other for a moment. Then, knowing this was a loosing battle, Leo spoke, "Alright, Donnie. You win. Just let us know how we can help." Don smiled softly.
It took most of the afternoon, but Don and his brothers eventually got all the equipment and other items that Don deemed necessary to take along to the farm house packed up and loaded onto the helicopter. Don thought it would be best to take the copter since it would be the fastest way of getting there, and it would leave the battle shell accessible to his brothers should they need it. Once dinner was over, Don took his little ones aside to tell them about the trip. Both seemed excited about the idea. All that was left to do was collect Eve, and they could go. Don left the twins with the rest of the family members while he went to get her. He carried her up into the helicopter and gently laid her on the makeshift bed. By this time, the rest of the family had made their way into the hanger to say their goodbyes. A few minutes later, Don strapped Yoshi and Tori into their seats, and they were off.
…..
After arriving at the farm house, not much changed. Eve's condition was still the same, and Don spent a lot of time trying to keep the twins occupied. Presently, he was sitting on the couch with the twins trying to read a book to them. It didn't take long to notice that neither of the twins were really interested in the book Yoshi in particularly was staring off in the direction of the stairs.
"Yoshi, would you like a different book?" Don asked trying to draw his attention. Without looking at his daddy, he just shook his head. "What's bothering you, buddy?" Don inquired, though he already knew.
"When's Momma gonna get better, Daddy?" Yoshi asked finally turning his head to look at his father.
"Soon, buddy. She'll be better real soon." Don replied with small smile trying to ease his young one's concern.
"Tomorrow?" Yoshi asked hopefully.
Don's smile faded. He doubted Eve would be better by tomorrow, but he didn't want to dampen his young son's hopes. "Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see."
"I hope Mommy's better tomorrow. I miss her" Tori piped in.
Don pulled his daughter a little closer to his side. and gave her a small hug. "I do too, sweetie." He paused to check the time. "Well come on you two. It's time for bed." The twins complied, and allowed their father to lead them upstairs. Once the twins were asleep, Don returned to the room Eve occupied. He removed the few wires that connected her to the monitor he used to help keep track of her vital signs during the day. Fortunately, she hadn't had any fever for a day or so, but beyond that there were no other signs of improvement. He sat in a chair near the side of the bed for a while, with the events of the last several days drifting through his thoughts. 'Maybe the guys were right. Maybe it would have been better to stay put rather than come up here. It's been two weeks today since Eve fell, and she's still unconscious. My attempts to preoccupy the twins' minds with various activities have proven to be rather unsuccessful for the last two days or so. Hmm…guess all we can do anymore is just wait it out, and hope that something changes very soon.' Don climbed into bed, slowly drifting off into a deep sleep. Maybe they'd be lucky and Eve would be better tomorrow. Just maybe the change of scenery would finally do some good.
…..
'What a strange dream. It seemed so real. Ugh, I really should get up, there's so much to do, and the twins are bound to be up at any minute. Hmm…odd…my limbs feel kinda stiff. Did I do something strenuous yesterday? For that matter, what did I do yesterday? Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter now. Wait a minute…something's not right. That scent…it smells like…hardwood? That can't be right. And that warm light I feel shining on me, is it possible it could be sunlight? No, that's crazy. Then again…eh, there's only one way to make sure. Now if I could just get my eyes open Hmm, feels like they're caked with gunk…come on now, open up. Ah, there we go. Okay, now if we can just get rid of the blurriness I-…I don't believe it. This isn't my room. It looks like…like…the farm house?'
