A big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter, lending her brain to let me pick, and for the great ideas! you rock!

Also a big thank you to moomie016 and mela989898 for your reviews!

please enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 7

Donatello groaned in pain as his head throbbed uncomfortably and frigid water ran down his cheeks in small, icy torrents.

He lifted up his head and slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry with pain.

Terror filled memory came rushing back to him in a horrifying rush. He tried to lift himself up but found that he seemed to be pinned between a large tree and Raphael's bed.

Fear tore through him as he desperately searched for Katherine and Raphael, who he had hoped to protect with his body, but he hadn't made it in time to do so. He had made it to the bed, just as the tree broke through the window, knocking him unconscious before he had been able to place his body over Katherine and Raphael; the roof caving in with a deafening crash, plunging everything into darkness.

"Katherine!" He yelled over the roar of the wind and the whipping of the rain that assaulted him. He tried to wiggle out from between the tree and the bed frame that had been partially crushed to the floor. "Katherine!" He yelled again, his voice breaking in terror. He strained to hear over the storm that now raged within the confines of the spacious bedroom.

"Over here!" Katherine's strained voice managed to cut through the howling wind.

"Are you okay?" He shouted back to her, knowing that she was not far away, but she was obstructed from his sight by the massive branches, leaves and debris from what had caved in.

Silence greeted his question and he felt a fission of fear and worry run down his spine as he strained to listen.

"Raphael is fine." She shouted back at him. "Just a few minor scrapes and bruises."

Donatello felt a wave of relief roll through him at knowing that Raphael was not severely injured. But it was then Donatello realized that Katherine had not said that she was okay.

"Are you alright?" He yelled again over the steady roar of the wind and rain.

"I...I don't know!" She yelled back at him which only spurned him into more desperate action. He managed to move the soft bed frame enough, that he was able to finally manipulate himself from under the large trunk of the tree that was pinning his lower half down.

He stood and he had to catch himself as a dizzy spell hit him. He wondered briefly if he had gotten a concussion, but not really caring if he had. He knew he had to help Katherine and Raphael.

His vision seemed to clear a little more as he squinted through the icy rain that pelted down mercilessly upon his face and shoulders. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky as Donatello stumbled towards the carnage that littered the room.

"Katherine!" He called out desperately searching for her beneath the thick green foliage and bits of shattered timber and clay tile.

"Over here!" She shouted from his left, giving him a wave with one faintly seen arm.

Donatello ducked down, crawling through the branches of the tree. He realized that the bed had been crushed beneath the weight of the tree and twisted. Donatello's heart pounded painfully in his chest as his frenzied brain came up with horrific scenarios of what could have happened to Katherine. He snapped a heavy branch in front of him pulling it away and revealing Katherine curled up protectively around Raphael, her arms wrapped around his head and neck.

The bed being knocked on its side and twisted, had served as a shield against the weight of the tree and debris that had rained down, creating a protective lean-to of sorts for his comatose brother and girlfriend.

Donatello felt his shoulders sag with relief as his eyes quickly raked over her body and finding no obvious injuries offered Katherine his hand so that she could crawl out from the wreckage of the room.

Katherine looked at Donatello and winced in pain. "We have to get him out of here!" She shouted at him. That was when Donatello saw the blood on her back.

"Katherine!" He cried out in horror.

"I know, but we have to get Raphael out of here. Someplace dry, before he gets any worse!" Katherine shouted back.

Donatello swallowed down his protests because he knew Katherine was right. He needed to get them out of this room, try to board up the roof as best as he could, hope that the lower levels didn't flood, and that there wasn't too much damage in other parts of the massive mansion.

Donatello studied the maze of broken branches and destroyed roof before shouting at Katherine to move as far back as she could. Without waiting to see if she obeyed him he turned around and kicked as hard as he could, at one of the larger branches that blocked his path to Katherine and Raphael.

Donatello heard a satisfying snap as the branch broke cleanly. He turned quickly and pulled the branch out of his way. He then scrambled through the remaining debris and grabbed hold of Raphael, who Katherine had managed to maneuver into a slumped, upright position. This made it easier for Donatello to drag his comatose brother out from under the debris, Katherine following close behind him.

Katherine slid her shoulders under Raphael's other arm and they carefully made their way from the room, down the hall, and to the staircase. Slowly they made their way down to the lower level. They dragged Raphael into the living room but stopped abruptly when they saw that the tree that had crashed into the upper level of the house, had also damaged part of the roof and one wall of the lower level.

"The library." Katherine said as they turned around and made their way through the house and into the library. The room was dry, but the power appeared to be out, and Donatello had a feeling that this time, it was not just a blown fuse.

They hauled Raphael towards a small decorative love seat. His brother wouldn't be able to lay in it comfortably, but for the moment, it would do.

"Let me see your back." Donatello ordered as Katherine turned her back towards him. He crouched down to get a better look. The light was not the best but from what he was able to see, several large pieces of glass had embedded themselves into Katherine's flesh. Donatello needed a light and the first aid kit. "Okay, you have glass in your back, you're going to be fine, but you are going to need a few stitches." He told her as she nodded. "I'll be right back." He said as he stood up.

"Grab some bedding from the linen closet." She replied as he nodded and ran from the room. He dashed back up the steps to Raphael's room which is where the first aid kit and paramedics bag was. The bags had been close to the nightstand which was now crushed under debris and tree branches. His eyes frantically searched the chaos spotting at least one of the bags wedged under what was left of the night table. He quickly ran over to the table, and giving it a few good kicks, managed to drag both bags out.

He glanced up and took stock of the damage. Most of the room's ceiling had caved in, but the tree seemed to be providing a reasonable cover for the room, allowing in only a small amount of rain. Though the rain seemed to be petering off, which hopefully meant that the storm would be passing soon.

He took the two medical bags and darted down the hall to the linen closet, checking the other rooms along the way. A few of the bedrooms had shattered glass on the floor from debris flying through the windows, other rooms had cracks in the ceilings that were letting in slow leaks of water that dripped to the floor.

Donatello realized that none of the bedrooms were inhabitable, at least not until he had a better look. He grabbed a new shirt for Katherine from her room and grabbed an armful of blankets and sheets from the linen closet before rushing back to the library.

Katherine was still sitting on the couch, her blood stained back turned towards the door. Raphael was cradled in her lap with her arms around his neck, his head tucked into the crook of her shoulder. With one hand she gently stroked his cheek and hummed very softly to him.

Donatello ran the bedding over to the corner close to the fireplace, that was used more for decoration than practical use. He then ran back to Katherine's side and quickly checked his brother over for any injuries that they may have not noticed earlier, and found nothing but a few scrapes, bruises and shallow cuts. Donatello then turned his attention to Katherine's back. He pulled open his bag and holding his penlight in his mouth he began to cut Katherine's torn and blood stained shirt away from her injured back. Donatello assessed the damage and felt his shoulders sag with relief. Most of the cuts were superficial, but there was a three inch long gash and several shards of glass that needed to be removed. A few of the lacerations stitched closed.

"You are going to need a few stitches." He told Katherine gently as he pulled out his tweezers and deftly removed the shards of glass, dropping them into a small container next to him.

"It really bothers me that I can't see what you are doing." She told him as she began to look over her shoulder, but ended up wincing because she pulled the muscles of her back as she did so.

Donatello put a pad over the cluster of lacerations and smiled slightly. "Don't you trust me?" He asked before realizing that trust was a topic they had been dancing around for the last week.

"I trust you." She said without a moment's hesitation. "In everything. I trust you with my life, Donatello." She said softly.

This made Donatello feel all the more guilty about accusing Katherine of cheating on him, though he knew that when he had playfully asked if she trusted him, it was not this weighty subject to which he was referring.

Katherine continued, a slight smile in her voice. "I am just one of those people who can't stand not looking. It is oddly fascinating and disgusting at the same time. And to not be able to see when something sharp goes into my skin, it just bothers me." She said and began to shrug but managed to stop herself. She then stroked her hand across Raphael's forehead which brought Donatello's attention back to his brother.

Donatello felt his heart sink into his stomach with dread. He already knew that his brother's temperature had not changed within the last few moments. Raphael was still too warm, but there was nothing he could do to help his brother. The only thing he could do was to make him as comfortable as possible, hope that his temperature went down soon; and pray that his brother managed to survive his ordeal without brain damage.

Donatello turned his attention back to Katherine's injuries and began the process of cleaning the wounds and giving her ten stitches. She flinched a few times as he inserted the needle into her skin. He had tried to warn her that the needle was coming, but that just seemed to make it worse. So he quit warning her and just completed his task as quickly and efficiently as he could.

He helped Katherine move Raphael enough so that she could remove her ruined shirt and put on the fresh one he had brought her. "So what's the damage?" Katherine asked as she finished pulling on her shirt.

Donatello explained to her that the upstairs bedrooms were off limits and Katherine just nodded. Donatello rested Raphael against Katherine again as he laid out the bedding and blankets on the floor in front of the fire place.

"I suppose it's lucky that the tree only damaged the upper level and the living room." She said as she stood. Donatello stood as well hauling Raphael up with him. Katherine slid herself under his brother's other arm and they helped him over to the bed that Donatello had created for themselves.

Katherine was right of course. The only thing on the upper lever were the 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms; one bathroom for each master suite -there were two- and a shared one in the hall for the three other bedrooms.

They gently lay Raphael down on their makeshift bed and Katherine sat down beside his brother, stroking one of Raphael's cheeks tenderly.

"He's still so hot." She said to him. Donatello nodded grimly. "We'll strip him down, and try to get his temperature down. "Can you grab some towels and some ice while I hook the generator up?" He asked her.

"The house already has a back-up generator. The one you fixed was from before the new one was wired in. There is a switch in the utility room." Katherine said as she stood. "I'll get us all some dry clothes." She said as she took one more worried glance at his brother before they both left the library.

Donatello was just thankful that they had a backup generator already hooked up into the house. Otherwise it would take him a while to hook up the one he had found in the shed, and he didn't want all of their food to spoil, and he needed the light to monitor his brother.

The library was a two story room in the center of the house. It had no windows except for the skylights in the ceiling, and they did not allow enough light in at the moment.

Donatello left Katherine in the hallway as she darted upstairs, while he walked to the utility room and flicked the switch. He made sure the breakers were all off before powering up the secondary panel and switching all of the breakers back on.

On the way back he managed to meet up with Katherine in the kitchen. She was placing a large metal bowl under the ice maker and filling it with ice.

He took the bowl from her grasp and placed it on the table as she looked at him in confusion. He wrapped her gently in his arms then, just breathing in the soft scent of her, and allowing the warmth of her body to heat his own cold skin. He closed his eyes and just held her, wanting to let her know how much he loved her. How glad he was that she was okay and that she was amazing. But he couldn't seem to find the words so he just contented himself with holding the woman he loved in his arms for a brief moment, before reality intruded and he had to try to do everything he could to keep his brother alive.

He pulled away finally and gave her a kiss that was all too brief. But they had already both been away from Raphael for too long already.

"I love you too, Donatello." She told him softly. He stroked the scar across her cheek gently and gave what he hoped was a brave, reassuring smile. He wanted to tell her that Raphael was going to be fine, but he couldn't allow himself to lie to her or himself. All they could do was wait, and hope that he improved.

They made their way back to the library and began the process of bringing Raphael's temperature down by covering his body with ice for twenty minutes, then removing it and repeating the process. Unfortunately Raphael's temperature remained the same and after a while they concentrated on just keeping him comfortable.

Donatello rubbed his tired eyes. He had been trying to stay awake, but was finding it hard to keep a vigil over his deathly ill brother as evening had crept up on them. Katherine was curled up next to Raphael on the floor sleeping, while Donatello sat in one of the leather, cherry red wing chairs that sat around the fireplace. He stood and walked over to his brother, placing his cold hand upon his brother's sweat laden, fevered brow.

"Raph." Donatello began softly. He hoped that his voice wouldn't wake Katherine up. She was generally a light sleeper, but she was exhausted, and had fought against falling asleep but had failed in the end to keep her eyes open. "I'm sorry. For everything, I am so, so sorry." Donatello swallowed before continuing. "You have to fight. You have to wake up, please!" Donatello watched his brother intently hoping that he would wake up or move or do anything, but Raphael didn't stir.

"He'll forgive you, Donatello." Katherine's soft voice broke through the silence of the room.

Donatello nearly jumped out of his shell at the sound of her voice, but managed to nod at Katherine's words instead; even though he was not comforted by them one bit.

"You apologized for what you said, and Raphael apologized to you for what he said. There is nothing left to apologize for." Katherine said to him, standing and motioning for him to move and take up her spot on the floor.

He reluctantly straightened and walked over to Raphael, laying down next to him and gently holding his brother's hand in his own. Donatello could feel the heat radiating off of his brother's body. His only solace at the moment was that Raphael was not any worse. If Raphael's temperature climbed any higher, his brother would die.

Donatello watched as Katherine curled into the chair being careful of the right side of her back where the stitches were located. Donatello closed his eyes tightly and tried to stamp out the cloying guilt that assaulted him. It was an old guilt, but one that he was never able to banish.

Ever so softly, too quiet for Katherine to hear him, he told her what he was apologizing for. "I can never apologize enough for loving you, and dating you, even though Raph is still in love with you." He whispered.

The scene in the hallway replayed in his mind over and over again; Raphael kissing Katherine and begging her to never leave him. But Raphael had never been able to apologize until it had been too late, because by the time Raphael could apologize, Donatello had already stolen Katherine's heart. Though he knew there was a saying that you could not steal what did not want to be stolen, it still did not lessen any of the guilt he felt towards his brother. There was nothing he could ever say or do that would make things better. The only thing he could have done was not date Katherine in the first place. But that had not been an option, because he had loved her too much to let her go; Which just proved what kind of brother he really was.

Donatello's only solace had been the fact that Katherine had been genuinely happy with him. Donatello had wanted Raphael to see that she was happy and in good hands, and to know that he would take care of her and never hurt her. Only... he had hurt her.

Donatello pushed his tumultuous thoughts from his mind and finally managed to grab a few hours of sleep lying next to Raphael.

Donatello placed the spoon in Raphael's mouth and tried to get his brother to swallow as much of the broth as he could. It had been five days and Donatello was beginning to think his brother was never going to wake up. And if his brother didn't wake up soon he was going to die of dehydration.

Donatello couldn't help the tears of frustration, grief, and hopelessness that ran down his cheeks. He had tried to get a hold of Leonardo and Michelangelo several times, but had only managed to get their voicemail. Donatello wasn't worried about his two other siblings, but he had wanted to hear Leonardo's calm and reassuring voice and Michelangelo's optimistic outlook on life. Katherine was helping, but he had been desperate to get a hold of his brothers.

The storm had passed a few days ago, which was good. Donatello had assessed the damage on the upper floor and concluded that two of the bedrooms were inhabitable. They had moved Raphael back upstairs into the master suite that he and Katherine had occupied. The room that Katherine's cousin Holly had used was also usable, not that it had been used. Katherine refused to leave Raphael's room in case he woke up, or got worse, and Donatello wasn't leaving his brother's side either.

Unfortunately, besides Raphael's continued comatose state and Donatello being unable to contact Leonardo and Michelangelo, Katherine had received word that the plane that was supposed to pick them up today, was unable to do so. The plane had been parked in a hanger that had been hit by the same tropical storm that had hit them. The runway had flooded and the hanger that housed the plane had collapsed, causing major damage to the aircraft. This meant that this shifted all of the scheduled dates forward. Their new scheduled was not going to be for another ten days... if they were lucky.

This news had hit Donatello like a punch to the stomach. He knew there was nothing he could do for Raphael that he wasn't already doing, but at least back at home there was a stockpile of saline bags that would keep Raphael hydrated. At this point Donatello was worried that it wouldn't be the Yellow Fever that killed his brother, but dehydration or starvation.

Raphael had already begun to lose a lot of weight, and Donatello was only able to get so many spoonfuls of broth and water past his brother's parched and cracked lips.

"Come on, Raph." He coaxed, trying feeding his brother another spoonful. "Please... please, Raph, just hang on. You have to beat this. You have to wake up." He told his brother softly. "I can't ... I can't lose you. I love you, and the thought that the last words we shared were, angry, hurtful words... that can't be the last time I ever speak to you. Raph, please." He begged as a new wave of warm tears tumbled down his cheeks. "You have to pull through this. We need you. Mikey needs you, Leo needs you, I need you, and ... and Katherine needs you." He whispered miserably.

He felt Katherine wrap her arms around his shoulders brushing her scarred cheek against his wet one. "You're still able to get him to swallow something." She said squeezing him more tightly. "As long as you can still get him to swallow, there is still hope." She told him softly.

Donatello nodded, dashing away his tears with the back of his hand.

"Let me try." Katherine said taking the spoon from his shaking grasp. He looked up at her and realized that she was trying to hold it together for him, if nothing else. He could see the tears that were threatening to fall from her dark lashes, but she wouldn't let them fall, because she was trying to be strong, for him.

"Katherine..." He began as he was interrupted by a soft moan came from the bed.

Donatello and Katherine both turned their frantic, hopeful attention back to the bed. Raphael moaned a little more, opening his amber eyes slightly.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted in relief as he checked his brother's forehead and was relieved to find it slightly cooler than it had been even a few moments ago.

Raphael's only response was to groan a little more as he weakly attempted to switch positions.

"Raphael." Katherine said gently as she placed her hand upon his brother's cheek.

"Hey, Kitten." Raphael managed to say weakly as he lifted a shaking hand and placed it upon Katherine's hand which still rested upon his cheek. "Donny, I feel like hell." Raphael croaked out as his eyes slid closed again.

Katherine turned towards Donatello a watery and relived smile on her face as a few tears managed to grace her pale, hollow cheeks.

Katherine held out her other hand and pulled Donatello in close. Donatello allowed himself a momentary respite of relief. His brother was awake, and didn't appear to have any brain damage, though he would test his brother more when he wasn't as weak.

But his brother still had a high fever, and his skin hadn't returned to its brilliant emerald green colour; which meant that his liver was still failing.

Raphael had woken up from his coma, but he wasn't out of the woods yet... not by a long shot. Donatello thought to himself grimly

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