Alrighty all, chapter 4 is up!

A big thank you as always to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter for me!

Also thank you to my reviewers Moonie016 and mela989898.

Chapter 4

Donatello peeled his face from his arm and looked at Raphael's pale, sweat beaded brow. His brother had slept fitfully throughout the night and although Donatello hadn't planned on sleeping, he realized that he must have nodded off sometime during the early hours of the morning waiting for Raphael's fever to break.

He rubbed his hands down his weary face as he stood and stumbled over to the bedroom curtains pulling them open. There had been a series of noises that he had been unable to identify that were most likely the cause of him waking up. Pulling open the curtains he realized that the noise he had been hearing was the fronds of a palm tree whipping against the glass of the window. The rain storm pelted the windows violently as the darkened clouds rolled across the sinister, leaden sky as flashes of lightning lit up the heavens here and there, thunder rumbling ominously .

Donatello walked back over to Raphael who was still sleeping fitfully. He flopped tiredly back into his chair and checked his brother's temperature. His brother's skin still burned beneath his fingertips.

Donatello's light touch must have disturbed his brother because Raphael groaned and rolled over. "Bucket." Raphael managed to choke out weakly as Donatello quickly placed the ice cream pail in front of his brother's mouth just as he heaved.

Donatello rubbed Raphael's shoulder comfortingly as Raphael heaved again. His brother pulled back and flopped back weakly on the bed, his face pale and his body shaking. "What the hell is wrong with me, Donny?" Raphael grumbled out weakly.

Donatello placed the bucket on the floor. "I don't know, Raph." Donatello told his brother truthfully with a shake of his head. "I know it isn't a flu, but that's not to say it isn't some sort of nasty bug that will just work its way out of your system. The fact that you have a fever means that your body is trying to fight off the infection."

Raphael grunted in acknowledgement. "Can you at least try to keep Kitten out of here? She doesn't need to see my like this." Raphael muttered as he closed his eyes in shameful embarrassment.

Donatello knew that Raphael hated anyone seeing him vulnerable and weak, and right now Raphael was both, and hating every minute of it. But Donatello was surprised that Raphael didn't want Katherine to see him sick. "You know I couldn't keep Katherine out of here, even if I tried." Donatello replied frankly.

Raphael let out a huff of irritation but nodded, acknowledging the truth of his statement.

"Besides you've already puked on her." Donatello pointed out with a teasing half-smile. "I think the embarrassment boat has long since sailed."

Raphael groaned and buried his face in his pillow. "I don't want her to worry about me Donny." Raphael mumbled into his pillow.

Donatello felt his eye ridges rise in surprise. "She'll worry about you anyway, Raph." Donatello told his brother softly.

"That's the problem, Donny. She shouldn't be worrying about me. She's your girlfriend." Raphael said as he lifted his head off his pillow, his amber eyes filled with worried remorse.

Donatello understood then that Raphael had at least figured out that Donatello and Katherine's problems had begun the night he had fallen sick. Raphael obviously believed that Donatello had become jealous because Katherine had been tending to Raphael when he had become sick.

Donatello took a deep breath and knelt down at his brother's side. "Raph," he began. "Katherine loves you and will always worry about you, no matter what. I messed up, okay, it wasn't you and it wasn't her, it was me. I said things to you that night that you don't remember and I am glad you don't, because I can't forgive myself for what I said. But believe me; it had nothing to do with Katherine worrying about you, her feelings for you, or her tending you. Okay?" He said as he reached out and gave his brother's hand a tight squeeze.

Raphael's concerned gaze searched his own and gave a slow nod of understanding. "Okay, Donny." His brother replied softly.

Donatello smiled. "I'll go get you some water; hopefully you will be able to keep it down." He said gently as he stood, grabbing the bucket to go wash it out in the bathroom and get a glass of water when he glanced down at the contents of the bucket. Raphael hadn't eaten in over a day and so he should have just been vomiting up stomach acid, but instead of the expected clear liquid, dark crimson stained the bottom of the bucket.

Donatello looked at the blood in horror as his eyes sought out Raphael's confused gaze. Donatello slowly put the bucket back down. He pulled up his chair closer to Raphael's bedside, sat down, and looked over his brother. "Raph..." he began as the door to Raphael's bedroom opened and Katherine walked in carrying a tray. There was a fresh cup of steaming hot coffee, some toast, and a glass of water and a bowl of porridge.

She took one look at Donatello's fear filled face and paled. She placed the tray down on the dresser and quickly strode to Donatello's side.

"Donny, stop looking at me like that and just tell me what the hell is wrong?" Raphael ground out in irritation as Donatello glanced at Katherine before turning his attention back to Raphael.

Donatello swallowed down his fear, his mind struggling desperately to come understand what was wrong with his brother. Donatello reached out shaky fingers and placed them on Raphael's throat feeling the gentle but irregular beat beneath his fingertips. Katherine sat down gently on the edge of the bed. "Donatello?" Katherine asked her voice calm and controlled, but her eyes were nearly blue with worry.

Donatello pulled his shaky fingers away from his brother's throat. He stood, not answering Katherine's question, and instead he pulled back his brother's bed sheets. He gently grabbed his brother's arm and began searching his emerald green flesh.

"Donny, what are you...?" Raphael began asking as Donatello found dark purple bruising along his brother's left side. He prodded his brother's side above the bruise and the other side, ignoring Raphael's protest of soreness he pressed firmly on his brother's plastron, over his stomach.

Raphael groaned in pain and rolled to his side. Donatello quickly grasped the pail and shoved it beneath his brother's chin as he vomited thick, frothy blood into the bucket.

"Raphael is showing signs of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, or DIC, and heart arrhythmias." Donatello pronounced grimly as he resisted the urge to pace. He looked at Katherine and Raphael who were exchanging confused, horror-stricken looks.

"Raph is bleeding internally and his heartbeat is irregular." He clarified bleakly. "He is also experiencing headaches, muscle pains, vomiting and fever." This last part he said more to himself as his mind furiously searched for the answer to what was wrong with his ailing brother; and to his horror, came back with absolutely nothing. He just didn't know.

He glanced at Katherine and Raphael's pale faces as he slumped back in his chair in shock. "I don't know what's wrong with him." He whispered to Katherine as his heart rose up and lodged in his throat to choke him with horror filled misery.

"I'm sick Donny, not deaf." Raphael growled as he gritted his teeth in pain, his lips stained red with blood. Raph clutched his stomach in agony as he rolled over again. Katherine held the bucket up to his brother's face as more blood made it into the bucket.

Donatello shot to his feet, vibrating as his mind struggled furiously to discover an answer. "If only I had my equipment, I would be able to do a blood test to see if I could figure out what was wrong with him. But I left all my equipment at home." Donatello sat back down into the chair; angry at himself for not bringing anything, not even a simple microscope. But Katherine had wanted him to relax and have fun during their vacation. She hadn't seen any valid reason for him to bring his equipment along. "I shouldn't have listened." He ground out bitterly as he shot to his feet again, his anger burning through him like a red hot flame. "I never should have left my equipment at home." He hissed out angrily. "And because I listened to you I didn't bring any of it!" He spat out turning the full brunt of his accusation on Katherine, whose eyes widened slightly in shock as he continued his angry tirade. "And now my brother may be lying here dying and I can't do a damn thing about it!" His roared angrily.

Katherine and Raphael both blinked at him in shock. His anger draining away suddenly as he realized what he had just said, and who he had just angrily, and unfairly accused. Katherine's eyes had lightened indicating anger, but her face remained disturbingly blank. Whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment, she wasn't sharing.

"Katherine..." He began wanting to apologize for his outburst, but she stood suddenly cutting off his hastily formed apology.

"You're right Donatello." She said briskly.

Donatello shook his head vigorously from side to side. "N-No...I..." Donatello stammered, but Katherine talked right over him.

"We only have a first aid kit and a paramedic's kit, but they don't have anywhere close to the amount of medicines that you would have access to back at your lab." Katherine told him. "But you need to figure out what is wrong with him before he gets any worse. Pointing fingers and laying blame will not help Raphael. Feeling guilty will not help either, so pull yourself together and accept the fact that you are going to be working under less than ideal conditions. Many before you have and many after you will work in less ideal conditions."

"I'm still not deaf." Raphael grumbled angrily as he grunted, clutching his head in pain.

Donatello ignored his brother wanting desperately to take back what he had said to Katherine, because even though she was talking calmly and rationally, he didn't know what was underneath the calm exterior. Their relationship was already on shaky ground, and Donatello was afraid that his unwarranted outburst had just jeopardized it even further.

"I will get the kits for you Donatello." She said as she walked from the room, closing the door behind her.

Donatello flopped back into his chair. He put his head in his hands and resisted the urge to break into tears of angry frustration.

"She's not mad you know." Raphael's hoarse voice broke through his despair.

Donatello pulled himself together shame filling him and staining his cheeks. The fact that his brother could be dying right in front of him and he was wasting precious time worrying about his relationship with his girlfriend struck a raw chord of disbelief in his heart. That his trepidation had been that obvious to Raphael was embarrassing and grating.

Donatello looked over at his brother who, despite his calm, strong words, looked like he had deteriorated within the past few moments. "I'll figure out what's wrong with you Raph." He promised softly to his brother; because that was what was important at the moment, not his faltering relationship with Katherine.

Raphael moaned pitifully and wretched into the bucket again. Donatello settled his brother back down and washed out the bucket. Raphael complained of being tired and Donatello left his brother for a moment to see if he could find Katherine who was taking longer than he would have expected in getting the kits.

He ran into her just as she was walking up the stairs, her hands were full and he rushed to help her. "Katherine...I..." He began, trying to stammer out another apology.

"Donatello," She began as she placed a first aid kit, a laptop and another heavy bag on the floor. She stepped up to him wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "I know." She said softly as he dropped the bag in his hand and wrapped her in his arms, relief flooding through him. She pulled back slightly looking at him in the eyes. "You are worried, and so am I. I know you didn't mean it...Well... I mean you did mean it, but not how it came out." She amended. She brushed his cheek lightly and leaned in, kissing him warmly and leaving him in no doubt of her love.

"You can do this Donatello." She said to him encouragingly as she bent down and began picking up the bags she had placed on the floor.

Donatello nodded, thankful for her support, but unable to feel the same unwavering confidence in his abilities to discover the malady that was ailing his brother. They both walked into the room together. Raphael had curled into a ball and though asleep was shivering violently, his face pale and beaded with sweat.

Katherine walked to the bathroom and walked out a moment later with a cool, damp towel. She tenderly wiped the sweat from Raphael's face and got him another blanket as Donatello perused the first aid kit and paramedics bag they had brought in. There were scissors, bandages, gloves, a scalpel and various other medical paraphernalia and surgical tools as well as Tylenol, penicillin, and a small bottle of morphine. He next examined the unidentifiable bag and found it to be a small defibrillator. Donatello shuddered slightly and prayed silently that he would never have to use the machine.

He closed the defibrillator bag and turned his attention to the laptop that Katherine had brought up. Donatello looked outside at the continuing storm that raged around them and hoped that he was able to get a decent internet signal.

Luckily he was able to get a signal, but after a few hours he lost his tenuous internet signal. Unfortunately Donatello found that he was no closer to discovering what was making his brother so sick. It had grown dark outside meaning it was close to dinner time; not that he was hungry or even felt like eating.

He reviewed his notes when Katherine's voice interrupted his tumultuous thoughts. "Donatello." Katherine said her voice containing the sharp edge of panic and fear.

Donatello's head shot up as he looked at Katherine who was helping Raphael to sit up slightly. "His eyes are yellow." She said and Donatello took this to mean that she wasn't talking about his brother's unique golden amber eye colour.

The lamp in the bedroom flickered and then went out just as he was standing to go examine his brother. He looked around the darkened room in shock as the storm raged outside. Donatello realized that the storm must have knocked the power out, and as they were on a small, private and very deserted island, there would be no one to fix the power except him.

"His liver must be failing." Katherine announced softly in the darkness.

Donatello looked in the direction of Katherine's voice, his mouth hanging open in surprise at her diagnosis.

Katherine was smart and had a small bit of knowledge in osteology that stemmed from her work in Archeology, but she was no medical doctor.

"Donatello, I watch House, even I can pick up a few things." She said in regards to his stunned silence, with no hint of any humour in her voice; she was just stating a fact. That she knew that her words had stunned him into silence let Donatello know just how well Katherine knew him and could read him even in the pitch black dark.

"Why do you guys keep talkin' like I ain't here?" Raphael's voice ground out in irritation.

Donatello rummaged around in the medical kit at his feet, searching desperately for the small penlight he had spotted earlier. His hands wrapped around the metal cylinder. He pulled it out clicking on the small light he shined it towards his brother who closed his eyes automatically in reaction to the light. Donatello bent closer to his brother. "Raph, I need you to open your eyes." He told his brother softly.

Raphael's eyes opened and Donatello carefully shined the light in each one. He pulled back, numb with shock. Katherine was right, Raphael's liver was failing. "It could be acute pancreatitis." He said as he studied his brother in the small beam of the penlight.

"Pancrea- what now?" Raphael asked weakly as he frowned.

"Pancreatitis." Donatello answered as his mind spun rapidly as he recalled the exact symptoms of the disease. Almost all of his brother's symptoms fit except... "Raph, how much pain are you in, scale of 1 to 10? Specifically around your stomach?" He asked his brother carefully.

"Six, maybe seven, but my stomach doesn't hurt that much Donny. I feel more sick than anythin'. It's more my head an' muscles that hurt." His brother answered wearily as if talking suddenly exhausted him.

Donatello felt his shoulders slump, though he wasn't sure if it was in frustration or relief. If his brother had pancreatitis at least Donatello would know what was ailing his brother, and in most cases pancreatitis was treated by having the patient given fluids intravenously to prevent dehydration and stop eating or drinking anything by mouth for a few days to allow the pancreas to rest. But pancreatitis seemed unlikely if his brother's stomach didn't hurt.

Donatello rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. "It's not pancreatitis." He announced softly. "I want to go down and check the breaker and see if I can get the power back on." He said dispiritedly.

"Okay." Katherine replied softly to him. "Take the pen light and go down to the end of the hall, there's a flashlight in the linen closet."

Donatello nodded. He gloomily walked from the room, down the hall to the linen closet and found the flashlight. He walked towards the stairs pausing briefly before continuing down the staircase. Katherine was talking softly to Raphael, but her words were too soft for Donatello to hear what she was saying to his brother.

Donatello moved down to the main floor where the utility room was located. There was a cellar in the mansion, but it was used mostly for wine storage rather than trying to keep the utilities out of the way. Not that space was an issue since it was a ten room house complete with indoor swimming pool, sauna, huge gourmet kitchen, living room, movie theatre room, games room and a large impressively filled library.

Donatello opened the fuse box and looked inside. Several of the breakers had been tripped. Donatello flicked the breakers on. He walked over to the light switch and flicked it on, turning off his flashlight as the room was lit with bright, white light.

"Fever, vomiting, jaundice, internal hemorrhaging, severe headache, muscle pain and arrhythmia." Donatello mumbled to himself as he stood staring at the electrical panel, as if it had the answers. Since pancreatitis didn't fit, neither did pancreatic cancer, or gallstones. His mind furiously ran through other possibilities. Gastroenteritis, Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Peptic Ulcer, Hepatitis A, B or C, Diverticulitis, Helicobacter Pylori Infection, Abscess, Food Poisoning and the list went on and on. Each was rejected for one reason or another. The staggering list in his head began shortening as he mentally put some diseases and infections to the side to be examined more closely later.

He wasn't sure how long he stood staring at the electrical panel but he finally blinked, and shaking himself from his abstraction, walked with leaden feet back to Raphael's bedroom with a much shorter list of possible ailments, none of them good.

He needed to narrow his list down considerably. At the moment the top contenders were Appendicitis, Aseptic Meningitis, Osteomyelitis, Kidney infection, Endocarditis, Cirrhosis, and a whole list of Cancers; Stomach, Intestinal, Liver, Esophageal, to name a few.

He walked into the room and saw that the table side lamp was on and that Raphael appeared to be sleeping again. Katherine was sitting in the chair by his bedside, her hand clasped in his brother's as she lightly kneaded it in comfort.

Forcing his feet to continue walking and ignoring the slight tinge of jealously that ran through him, he stood by his brother's bedside. Katherine looked up at his grim face and looked towards Raphael's sweat drenched features with anxiety filled concern.

"How long has he been sleeping?" Donatello asked quietly, not wanting to wake his brother but realizing that it was better if he did. The sooner he figured out what was wrong the sooner he would be able to treat his brother. At least he was hoping that whatever his brother had was treatable. The alternative was unthinkable.

"About 20 minutes." Katherine replied softly. "Donatello..." She began but Donatello cut her off.

"Could you maybe make us something to eat?" Katherine looked at him in surprise. She blinked a few times as if her brain was trying to process what he had asked. "I know you probably aren't hungry and I'm not either, but we should eat and I have to do a few examinations that Raph may feel more comfortable if I did them while you were out of the room." He put in persuasively.

Katherine nodded her head slowly and stood up. "Okay, call me if you need anything." She said as she left the room closing the door gently behind her.

"You're getting better Donny." Raphael observed hoarsely.

Donatello's head snapped around looking at his brother in shock. "At lyin'." Raphael clarified as Donatello continued to look at his brother in confusion. "You still suck, but you're gettin' better."

Donatello's eye ridges shot up in surprise as opened his mouth to refute his brother's claim that he had lied to Katherine but snapped his mouth shut because his brother was right. Donatello wanted to talk to Raphael without Katherine in the room because his shortened list of diseases were not good, and he wanted to spare Katherine any unnecessary worry until he managed to narrow the list down further.

"Do you think she bought it?" Donatello asked Raphael quietly, but he already knew the answer to his question.

"Not for a minute." Raphael said seriously. "So what's got you so worked up that you wanted Kitten out of the room?" Raphael asked, his voice becoming softer with worry.

Donatello swallowed and sat down in the seat Katherine had vacated. The warmth of her body was still present on the seat, giving him some degree of comfort, even if it was only fleeting. "I am going to ask you a few questions, I need to narrow down my list."

Raphael didn't reply only waited for Donatello to continue. "Before you got sick how was your appetite?" He asked trying to rule out Stomach cancer first. His brother hadn't lost any weight that he could see, but with Raphael he still looked thinner than he had been a year ago. "Any difficulty swallowing or feeling bloated?"

"Fine, no and no." His brother answered with a frown. Donatello thankfully crossed Stomach cancer off his mental list and with a few more questions crossed the rest of the cancers off.

Donatello then removed his brother's blankets looking for any swollen limbs. "Do your bones hurt?" He asked hoping that his brother didn't have Osteomyelitis which was a type of bone disease that Raphael could have acquired through a long healed injury.

"No." His brother growled.

"When was the last time you had to go pee?" He asked his brother who glared at him and then frowned at the private question.

"Yesterday, I think. I don't know Donny I've barely been able to keep anythin' down since yesterday." Raphael said in frustration as he sat up straighter, his face going slightly blank before settling himself lower in the bed again. "It's just my head, Donny." Raphael growled. "It hurts." He growled in response what was no doubt a look of fear laced worry that rippled across Donatello's face.

"And before you got sick?" He asked pushing his brother for a better answer.

"Normal." Raphael grumbled.

Donatello nodded and crossed Kidney Infection off his mental list. "Pain around where your belly button would be if you had one?" He asked as his brother shook his head 'no'. Which meant that Donatello was thankfully able to cross off Appendicitis. He began examining his brother closely. "Have you had any chest pains?" He asked his brother steadily.

"I ain't havin' a heart attack, Donny." Raphael growled in irritation as Donatello examined his brother's nails for splinter hemorrhages.

"I know you aren't Raph." Donatello said as he helped Raph strip off his sweats so that he was able to examine his brother's skin. There was more bruising on his brother's legs which hadn't been present on the day they had been on the beach. Though Donatello did know that his brother had fallen to his knees when he had been trying to get to the bathroom five days ago, but judging by the colouring these bruises were fresh.

Donatello sighed in frustration. "I can't rule out Endocarditis, but, you are lacking some of the symptoms." he said with a shake of his head.

"Endo...what?" Raphael asked as Donatello helped his brother put his pants back on.

"It's a bacterial infection that weakens the valves, muscle or lining of the heart. But you would have had to have a weak valve to begin with because you haven't had dental surgery and you don't use injection drugs..." Donatello let this sentence hang.

"No." Raphael snapped angrily and Donatello continued as if he hadn't asked his brother is he was a druggie, not that he had ever witnessed any behaviour from Raphael that would indicate that he was, but he had to ask.

"And that is why I don't think it can be Endocarditis." Donatello said more firmly but with the realization that he only had one more disease left on his mental list.

He looked at his brother with horror as he slowly sat down on the chair.

"Bucket!" Raphael barked suddenly as he rolled to his side. Donatello grabbed the bucket and held it out for his brother as he wretched his guts out, more bloody vomit pooling in the bottom of the pail.

"You have Cirrhosis." Donatello said softly in stunned disbelief as all of the blood slowly drained from his brother's face.

"Don't understand doctor speak, Donny." Raphael snapped as he wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand.

"Cirrhosis is the final stage of chronic liver disease." He said in a dull whisper.

Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!:)