(This is meant as a backstory of sorts)
On the way to the hospital, April called the doctor.
"Doctor Anjo? Yeah, it's me, April. No, I'm fine. No, my father is fine, too. I need a favor. It's important. I just need to know something. Can you keep it a secret? They're-different. They are good...people, but they look and act different. No, they aren't gang members. I promise. They're the good guys. You can do it? Thank you, thank you, thank you! We'll be there in five minutes."
On the other side of city, a woman with bright blond hair, blue eyes, and a lab coat squinted at the phone as it was hung up. She sighed. April and her father had always been good to her. She was going to try to repay the favor, even if it killed her-which, for all she knew, it might. She got up to go prep the OR. Then, she walked outside to the back of the hospital, where she had no doubt they would meet her. That was the only place without cameras.
Right on time, they showed up.
When they came out of the car, she thought she would pass out; there were three giant turtles and a giant rat, carrying another, smaller giant turtle. April was standing next to them. Seeing the tears in their eyes, she shook herself out of it. No matter how strange they looked, they felt for this little one. It was her job to help people. It wasn't her job to discriminate. They obviously cared for each other, and that was all she needed to know.
"Get him on the gurney. NOW." She snapped, before turning to April.
"I don't know who or what they are, but I'll treat the little one. But I am expecting an explanation after this, got it?" April nodded. "Good. What's his name, what is he, and what happened?"
The one with the blue mask spoke up. She jumped a little, but listened intently. "His name is Mikey, he-we are turtles, mutated by something that has a really long explanation behind it, and he was protecting one of us when he jumped on top of a gun that overloaded and exploded right next to him."
"Vigilantes. Ok." She grabbed an oxygen mask, and put it to his face. Nothing happened.
A collapsed lung. Dear god. Ok.
She ran the cart to the Operating Room, and started work immediately.
The surgery was long and intense. Mikey had a collapsed lung, a deep incision in his shell that went straight through his body, barely missing the heart-by millimeters. His head was swelling up dangerously, due to elevated intracranial pressure, which had to be relieved immediately, or it could cause oxygen loss to the brain-deadly, and fatal if not treated at once. Donnie handed Doctor Anjo tools as she called for them.
"Lidocaine." Donnie gave her the long needle. She pushed the fluid into the flesh surrounding the skull, to numb it before the real work was done.
"Scalpal." She cut the skin, peeling it away from the skull, until the clean white bone was seen.
"Drill." Donnie handed her the tool that looked like it belonged in a hardware store, not on a surgeon's table. He watched as she drilled a hole into his baby brother's skull.
"Huh. That's funny." The doctor looked puzzled.
"What? What's funny!?" He asked frantically.
"His skull is unusually thick. Never seen it so thick before." She responded.
Donnie laughed nervously. "We-We always told him he had a-a thick head."
She chuckled, then drained some of the fluid out of his head, relieving the pressure and allowing oxygen to flow freely to his brain. They both sighed in relief.
"What's next?" Donnie asked her.
"We sew it back up." She took a needle and sewed the skin back together, using absorbable synthetic polymer fibers.
Then the skilled surgeon started work on the numerous other problems the Kraang had made for him.
Eight hours later, Doctor Anjo came out of the operating room, toting Donnie with her. Her lab coat was covered in blood, and she looked about ready to pass out.
Leo, Raph, and Master Splinter rose.
Seeing their distraught faces, she realized that in her exhaustion, it must look like the turtle-Mikey, had died.
She hastened to say, "He'll live. But you're incredibly lucky."
Master Splinter came up to her. She stood her ground, still not really believing she was talking to giant creatures. Fantastical, it really was.
"What happened?"
She answered quietly, "Maybe we should talk about this in private."
Raph got in her face and shouted, "Whatever you have to say can be said here."
Her anger rose. He dared accuse her of trying to keep secrets? After she had spent all night working on their brother?
She got in his face, and shouted right back, "Listen to me! I was trying to protect all of you. You're only kids, for Chrissakes!"
Raph backed down. Most people would have simpered in a corner. She talked back.
"Ok, fine. Due to some insane miracle, he's still alive. He had a collapsed lung, an ICP-that's where the brain swells too much for oxygen to flow into it, several internal organs shut down, a stab wound made by some sort of metal straight through his body, barely missing his heart, and abrasions-way too many to count-everywhere!"
She looked at all their faces, and sighed, feeling rather lightheaded.
Master Splinter noticed. "Perhaps you should sit down. You look rather pale."
She snorted half-heartedly. "No kidding. I'm talking to three giant turtles, a giant rat, I haven't slept in over 48 hours, and I had to pull that kid out of five cardiac arrests on the table."
She hadn't said freak, though, and they noticed that.
"Look, that kid is going to need intensive care. I can't keep him here, but I can hook you up with machines and things necessary to keep him going until he recovers-but only if you can make it look like a break-in. I can't be involved. How's that sound? I'll take a couple weeks off of work, take care of him, make sure he'll live past next week."
She was surprised by a hug from five people-three turtles, one rat, and a human girl who had been suspiciously quiet.
"Oh. Ok." She patted each of them awkwardly on the head, then gave up and hugged them tight.
This is the first part. Working on the second part now. :)