Here's the next chapter...I hope it's long enough for you. Once again, thanks to my beta readers: TheIncredibleDancingBettey and Raph's No. 1 Girl.
Enjoy.
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The next two days at the lair were filled with silence. Leo could hardly be dragged away from Raph's side. He slept there, ate there, and meditated there.
At any movement, he would jump to his feet and hover anxiously over him, hoping, praying for any sign that he would wake up, even for the slightest of moments. And yet, the hotheaded turtle didn't wake up.
Mikey found himself locked in his room most of the time. Sometimes, he would be meditating, trying to reach Raph that way. He could remember being locked in meditation for hours one time, refusing to quit until he saw some evidence of his brother's spirit. It took both Leo and Master Splinter to awaken him, and he wasn't happy.
He desperately tried to convince himself that if he'd been at it for a few more hours, or if they had let him be, he would've found Raph. But deep down, no matter how hard he tried, he knew it was a lie.
He wasn't even close to finding Raph; there'd been no hint, no nothing, of him. Just empty darkness the youngest turtle found himself wandering in, calling his lost brother's name.
Don had shut himself in his lab, not eating or sleeping for days at a time. He would be in his books constantly, trying to look up all he could on helping wounded people spiritually.
Most of them said to see a counselor or seek professional help.
Lots of help you are, Donny muttered to himself as he threw the book back onto his table. He rubbed his temples, suddenly aware of how tired he was.
Maybe just a cup of coffee and a few more hours, then I'll go to bed, he though drowsily to himself as he stumbled to his door.
Unlocking it, he made his way downstairs and to his coffee pot. Pouring himself a steaming cup, he slumped at the table, trying hard not to collapse then and there.
"Hey bro."
A sullen voice greeted Don. Don barely lifted his eyes to see who it was before slumping back down. "Hey Leo."
Leo sat down opposite side of Don. He clutched a small cup of tea, starring at the liquid as if it held the answers.
"Nothing?" Don asked, trying to break the silence.
Leo shook his head. "I had to get out of there for a bit; I need to refresh my mind." He admitted.
Don sighed as he put his large cup on the table. "Any change?"
"Nothing." Leo's shoulders slumped in defeat. The hard days at taken their toll on him. "Sometimes he'll move his head slightly or twitch his fingers, but his eyes never open." He looked up, studying the genius turtle. "He will wake up, won't he?"
Don rubbed his head. "I don't know." He admitted softly. "All the books I read say he should but…" he didn't get a chance to go on.
A loud blaring noise echoed through the air, red lights flashing in each room. The alarm.
Don jumped from his seat, running to his computer. Sliding into his roll-around chair, he quickly began typing, his thick fingers flying over the keyboard.
A second later a screen popped up. There they saw a figure, slowly making her way through the tunnels. As the figure came closer to the camera, the unmistaken body of a female began to form. Black hair draped shoulders as the girl looked around.
Leo was surprised. She looked familiar. "Hey!" he snapped his fingers. "Isn't that the girl who was with Raph that night on the roof. Sally or something?"
Donny nodded. "Suri," he corrected. "And it looks like she came to search for Raph."
At first, Leo felt a burning anger rush through him. How dare she come looking for Raph when they made it clear that Raph was no longer part of them? He was tempted to go down there and scare her off, but reason dealt with that urge.
"Leo, what do you think?" Donny glanced over his shoulder at his brother. Leo's face was expressionless as feelings ran through him.
Leo's eyes turned cold. "I say we run her out. But another part of me is saying she could be one thing that could save Raph."
Don considered the options. If they showed her the lair and Raph was still yet to wake up, then she was in danger. But if she could somehow bring Raph back to life…
"Get Mikey." Don told Leo. "I think he'd know best. After all, he's the best judge of character out of all of us."
Leo nodded and disappeared to get the youngest. A minute later, they both reappeared in Don's lab.
Mikey took one look at the girl. "Get her." He told them. "I have a hunch."
Donny looked to Leo who nodded his agreement. Donny turned back around, opening one of the entrances to the lair in front of the girl.
Suri jumped back at the sudden opening of the wall. She peered inside, her face masking her relief as she stepped in. Don closed the door behind her and went to meet the teenager.
Suri walked into the lair, half in shock and half in relief. She'd found the place but it wasn't at all like she'd expected. She didn't expect a well-furnished area with a working TV, a kitchen stocked with food and heat and electricity. She didn't know what she was going to find, but it wasn't this.
"Hello Suri." Don stepped behind the girl, smirking as she jumped before facing him.
Suri recovered long enough to remember the turtle's name. "Hello Don." She replied, the same smirk on her pretty features when Don looked at her in surprise. She stood her ground as the leader, Leonardo, faced her. He glared at her behind his mask, his chocolate brown eyes seizing her up in one glance.
"What are you doing down here?" he growled.
"What do ya think?" Suri crossed her arms. "Ya can stop the tough guy act. It ain't workin'."
Mikey, whom she recognized because of the orange mask, stepped in front of Leo. She remembered Raph saying that he'd been jealous of Mike's baby blue eyes and she had to admit that they were cute. But instead of the fun-loving turtle like he'd described, a serious pair of eyes starred at her.
"Are you Suri?" he asked. At her nod, he motioned her into another room.
Suri followed him. "Where's Raph?" she asked.
Mikey didn't answer, just opened a door and pointed in. Suri stepped beside him and peered in.
A large figure lay still in the dimly lit room, a figure Suri instantly recognized as the same turtle that she'd grown to love over the past month. The same turtle that'd hoped rooftops like a horse jumps fences, with so much effortlessness and grace; the same turtle that she'd fought with side by side. The same turtle that showed so much strength and yet, was so gentle she'd never imagine him hurting a fly.
The same turtle was lying as still as death, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. Bandages covered most of his body and he looked as weak as a baby. His muscles mass and shrunk considerably, leaving him looking small and nimble like the others, not muscular and well built.
"Raph." She covered her mouth to hide her shock. She stumbled to his side, easing back into the chair left by the side of the bed. She reached over and grasped his hand. "Oh Raph."
Shaun had told her that he'd looked bad, but she didn't picture him like this. Not like this. When he'd failed to return, she drug the information out of Joey and set out to hunt the red clad turtle down.
She wandered the sewers for hours, searching for any whereabouts to the turtle's home. She swore to herself that she'd continue to walk those sewers until she found him. Now that she did, it made her want to run, to get away from the hurt, but she couldn't leave his side.
"Bad huh?" a pain-filled voice spoke.
She looked up to see Leo, his eyes on his baby brother's face.
"Has he woken up?" she asked as she returned to stare at Raphael.
"No." Leo sat on the opposite side, grabbing his brother's hand in his own. Oh how he wished he would wake up. "We hoped maybe hearing a voice he's grown so used to over this month might jog him out of wherever he's in."
Suri didn't have to say anything. She knew what he was hoping. He was hopeful she might be the hope, the power to wake him. She prayed she would be. How could she handle it if he didn't?
She barely managed a nod before resting her hand on the turtle's pale green face. "I'll do my best." She whispered.
Leo gave her a short, brief nod before leaving them in peace.
"Oh Raph," Suri sighed as she starred at his face. He looked so beaten, so broken; she vaguely wondered how anything so busted could be fixed.
"It's Raph." She muttered to herself, determined. He would recover, he just had too. He was Raphael after all and nothing could keep the turtle down for long.
"Please get better," leaning over him; she planted a feathery kiss on his nose ridge. "Please."
She didn't know how long she was there in that room with him. Time wasn't important; she focused every ounce of her strength and love towards Raphael, trying to bring him back.
She didn't pay any heed to the other turtles and their father, Splinter, going in and out of the room. The one in purple, Don, checked him daily, going over every inch of him and making notes on his computer.
She never admitted to being scared; growing up on the street made any normal fear, like of the dark, seem childish. Fear didn't allow you to live for very long. Only the strongest survived the streets and the dangers it brought.
Fear was something Suri tended to keep out of her vocabulary, but the one in blue, Leo, scared her.
She wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the swords strapped to his shell or the way his eyes narrowed dangerously every time she was around. Or it might be the muscles and the way he trained vigorously every day.
She'll never forget the night when she was up to get a glass of water; she spotted him training in the dojo. Deciding to watch, she was amazed at the ease in which he moved or the way his swords swung through the air with trained hands. But when he aimed his swords at a practice dummy, he narrowed his eyes, the same way he did when she was around, and neatly sliced the head off in one swing.
The head rolled on the floor, landing at the feet of Suri. Leo didn't seem to notice, but kept training. She ran out of the room, water forgotten, and straight back to Raph's side. From that moment on, she only left during the daytime and when others were around.
Mikey had told her she'd been there a week, but Suri didn't care. She refused to leave unless Raph left with her.
"Don?" she asked the turtle one day on one of his daily check ups.
He raised an eyebrow in her direction. She'd never spoken to him before. "Yeah?"
She motioned to Raph. "When will he wake up?"
Don sighed and rubbed his forehead. Leo and Mikey, even Splinter, one of them always asked him that everyday. He didn't know.
"I'm not sure." Don went back to his computer, eyes never leaving the screen. "According to my studies, he should've woken up by now but things like these take time." He paused. "I'm an engineer, not a doctor. I can only do so much, the rest is up to him."
"So you've given up on him?" Suri hissed, standing up, her fists clenched.
Don raised his eyes from the screen. "Given up? Never." He turned to face her, rubbing a hand over his head. "Look, it may seem like we don't care about him but that's the farthest from the truth. I love my brother, as do we all. But…" he lowered his voice. "Raph, you have to understand, is not the easiest person to live with. He has a temper, that, let's just say needs more control. He brash and rude, but we all love him dearly none the less."
"So?" Suri growled.
"I would never give up on him." Don insisted angrily. "None of us will, no matter what he does or how he acts. As long as he's still here breathing, there's hope. I'm not a miracle worker and being the closet thing to a doctor we have, I can only do so much to help him. You have to understand that."
"I understand." Suri sat back down, resuming her vigil. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."
She was silent a few more minutes. "What's with Leo?" she asked suddenly.
Don faced her again. "What's that mean?"
"You know." Suri rolled her eyes. "Is he always Mr. Sunshine?"
"Leo…" Don wasn't sure how to answer her. "Leo has always been like that. But he's like that for a reason. Why do you ask?"
She explained that night to him and how he always glares at her. Don shook his head. "When Leo was named leader of this group, he's taken it upon himself to protect us, not matter what. When one of us gets hurt, he thinks it's his fault cause he wasn't good enough. So he trains harder, thinking it'll help. Before you know it, he's always in there. I guess it's kinda like his sanctuary."
"But accidents happen."
"I know that and so does he." Don chuckled. "Leo was nicknamed by all of us 'Mother Hen' just because of how he is." He lowered his voice again. "When Leo would lock himself in the room, it wasn't because he was trying to ignore Raph or any of us or be better and perfect. He was trying to do the best he could and protect us the only way he could and knew how. But doing that, he knew he would have to sacrifice a few things."
"But by doing that, did it give him the right to ignore Raph like he did?" Suri demanded. "Couldn't he have found time for both training and his brother?"
Don was quiet. He'd never really thought about it that. He just saw Leo trying to do what was best for his family. "I guess he could've." Don admitted.
Suri nodded her head. She reached down to touch Raph's hand again when she saw something she'd dreamed about for days.
Raph's eyelids started to flutter open.
"Raph!" Suri whispered excitedly.
The turtle was waking up.
DON'T YOU JUST LOVE CLIFF HANGERS? *DODGES SNIPER FIRE AND ROTTEN VEGGIES*
HMMMMM..........MAYBE NOT.
OH WELL.
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