A/N: Thank you again for those who take the time to review. It seriously makes this all worth while for me and I'm so glad you guys are still enjoying it. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. I'll be back this weekend sometime.
Chapter 9
When Donatello woke the next morning, he felt as if he had been sleeping on a pile of rocks. His arms and legs ached all over and the headache he'd gotten from the blow to the head hadn't quite receded. He groaned as he rolled over, rubbing his temples gingerly. He needed a cup of coffee. That would clear his head.
As he made his way slowly down to the kitchen with the promise of the coffee that waited for him, Donatello made a detour for the bathroom. He didn't bother looking in the mirror at first, but as he finished washing his hands he looked up and froze at the mottled bruises that covered a good portion of his body.
They hadn't shown as clearly last night, but now Donatello could clearly see why he was so stiff this morning. He prodded one of the reddish spots on his skin with one finger, it throbbed under the pressure and faded, but returned again when he moved his finger away.
Looking away from his reflection Donatello's eyes roamed down his front, examining the damage himself for the first time. He had a few minor cuts, nothing serious, and the bruises would fade over time. No swelling to indicate broken or strained bones or muscles. Except for the stiffness and the headache he felt relatively normal. He knew the bruises would fade in a few days, they always did. Considering everything… well Donatello was glad he escaped with only a few bumps and bruises.
Donatello left the bathroom and once again headed for the kitchen, planning on getting his coffee before checking in on Raphael and Michelangelo.
Leonardo was already in the kitchen, a cup of tea cradled in one hand. He turned his head as Donatello made his way into the kitchen.
"Morning, Leo," Donatello said quickly as he pulled out a coffee filter and the coffee can from the cupboard.
"Morning, Donny," Leonardo replied quietly.
"You feeling ok?" Donatello asked as he spooned some of the dark coffee beans into the filter, glancing at his brother over his shoulder as he worked.
"Bit sore," Leonardo admitted.
Donatello nodded, leaning back against the counter while he waited for the coffee to brew. He studied his older brother with sharp eyes, taking in the hunched position Leonardo was sitting in, the way one hand was wrapped around his ribs protectively, the other occasionally rubbing at his temple.
"Do you need something for the pain, Leo?" Donatello asked, his eyes narrowing a bit behind his mask.
Leonardo just shook his head once. He didn't want anything.
Donatello frowned. "Leo, maybe you should take something anyway. It doesn't have to be the same stuff I gave you last night, but at least something to help take the edge off."
"I'm fine, Donny," Leonardo replied irritably. He released his ribs and cupped his mug with both hands, his knuckles paling a bit with his tight grip.
Donatello knew better than to argue. With a resigned sigh he turned, poured himself a cup of coffee and hurried to the infirmary so he could check on his other brothers.
As he got closer he could hear Michelangelo was awake, and protesting Splinter's orders to stay in bed. Donatello grinned. If Michelangelo was feeling well enough to complain about being on bed rest then he would be just fine.
"Donny!" Michelangelo's eyes widened in delight as Donatello stepped into the room. His blue eyes were bright, and his smile genuine though Donatello could see it took Michelangelo some effort to keep it there.
"Hey, Mikey," Donatello said grinning back. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit in the chest with a battering ram," Michelangelo complained, the muscles in his arms trembling a little.
"I'll bet," Donatello teased. "Are you having any trouble breathing at all?"
Michelangelo hesitated, then nodded quickly. "Chest still feels kind of tight. It hurts the most when I try to take a deep breath."
"You'll probably feel like that for a couple weeks, Mikey. You've got a bruised lung, but we were lucky it wasn't pierced by a broken rib."
"A bruised lung?" Michelangelo asked in a panicked squeak.
"It can happen sometimes with blunt trauma, Mikey. It'll be fine in a couple weeks I promise. It's just like how you get bruises on the outside… " He trailed off remembering his own outward appearance. He could feel Splinter's sharp eyes on him.
"Looks you've got enough of them to be a grape, dude," Michelangelo said with a weak grin.
"Donatello, why did you not tell me of these injuries last night?" Splinter scolded his son.
"They aren't serious, Master Splinter. Leo, Raph, and Mikey's injuries were more important."
Splinter frowned at him, rose stiffly after sitting in constant vigil all night, and walked to the medicinal storage cupboard pulling out a bottle of witch hazel and a soft clean rag. He glared at his son and gestured to the chair he'd just vacated. Donatello sat without complaint.
Splinter went to work with gentle hands, working the witch hazel into Donatello's sensitive and discolored skin. Donatello hissed quietly and squeezed his eyes shut when one tender bruise throbbed at the contact.
"Donny?" Michelangelo asked, watching his brother with tired eyes.
"Yeah, Mikey?" Donatello didn't bother opening his eyes.
"How did we get outta there? The last thing I remember was being in that cage with you."
Donatello's eyes snapped open and he heard Splinter's sharp inhale at Michelangelo's question.
"Leo got us out, Mikey," Donatello said wincing as Splinter continued his ministrations.
"Leo?" Michelangelo's eyes widened in surprise. "But how did he… ?"
"Your brother did what he knew he had to do, Michelangelo," Splinter said quietly. "You would have done the same for him had you been in his position last night."
"But he was so sick yesterday," Michelangelo argued.
Donatello shrugged and regretted it. "Leo's always been a fast healer, and can be more stubborn than Raph when he wants to be."
Michelangelo swallowed hard and his eyes roamed to his motionless red-clad brother involuntarily. "Is he gonna be ok, Donny?"
"I'm sure he will be, Mikey. Raph's tough, he was hurt pretty bad but I think it was the long exposure to the elements that really took their toll on him."
"And Leo?"
"He's got a couple of cracked and one fractured rib. He has a pretty good bump on the head too. But other than that he seems fine."
Michelangelo frowned. "Donny, are you sure he's… "
"Your brother went through a great deal to get you all back safely, Michelangelo. He is tired and worried about you and Raphael." Splinter said. He twisted the cap back onto the witch hazel and met Donatello's eyes with a hard stare.
Donatello smiled weakly at him. "Thank you, Sensei."
Splinter sighed, returned Donatello's smile and replaced the items back in their respective spots before heading out of the infirmary, his long night catching up with him. With Donatello now rested he could go get some rest himself.
As he entered the den he saw Leonardo leaving the kitchen, one arm wrapped around his ribs.
"Leonardo?" Splinter asked, concerned at his son's hunched over position.
Leonardo winced and turned his head towards Splinter's voice.
"My son, are your ribs bothering you?" Splinter asked stepping forward. Leonardo allowed Splinter to approach him and didn't wince when Splinter's soft paw gently grasped his arm.
"A little, Sensei," Leonardo admitted.
"You should go see your brother," Splinter said, frowning a bit.
Leonardo shook his head. "Its fine, Sensei. Its tolerable."
Splinter's frown deepened. Why was Leonardo refusing to take anything for the pain?
"Leonardo, I think it would be best if you… " Splinter stopped, it was clear Leonardo wasn't listening to him. Leonardo's face was blank, his head turned away. "Is something bothering you, my son?"
"No, Sensei," Leonardo said at once.
"Michelangelo is awake, I know he'd be happy to see you."
Leonardo nodded and hurried away towards the infirmary. Splinter sighed as he watched him go. Something was obviously still bothering Leonardo, but he was unsure of what it was. He turned slowly and headed for his room, hoping that the quiet and peace he craved would help him find the answers he needed to find for his oldest son.
"Leo!" Michelangelo's face brightened when the blue-banded turtle entered the infirmary.
Leonardo smiled. "Hey, Mikey – how ya feeling?"
"Better now that I'm home," Michelangelo said with a sigh leaning back against the pillows that were propping him up.
"You had us worried last night," Leonardo stepped closer to the bed, counting the steps silently in his head until he stopped just short of Michelangelo's cot.
"Sorry about that, bro," Michelangelo said with a sheepish grin, looking at Donatello who returned his smile. "But thanks for gettin' us outta there."
Leonardo frowned and tensed, his hands balling into fists and his jaw clenched so tight that Michelangelo and Donatello could see a muscle twitch. Leonardo looked… angry. Michelangelo's eyes widened behind his mask and he looked at Donatello, but Donatello seemed just as surprised as he was by Leonardo's reaction.
"Leo? Are you sure you're ok?" Donatello asked gently.
Leonardo's head snapped towards where Donatello was sitting. "Did you really think I was going to let you guys stay there? That I wouldn't come for you? Since when have we stopped looking out for each other? Since when do we leave each other to their own devices when we know they are in trouble?"
"Leo, we didn't mean… " Michelangelo started, realizing his mistake.
Leonardo cut him off. "You should have expected me to be there! You should have known I'd come for you! Just because I have this," he pointed to his blank eyes angrily, "it doesn't mean it changes anything!"
"We know that, Leo," Donatello said quietly.
"Do you?" Leonardo snapped. "Because it doesn't feel like you do!"
"Leo… " The new voice had all of their heads turning automatically towards it. Donatello was up in a flash, hurrying towards his Raphael's cot.
"Raph?" Donatello asked, peering anxiously into Raphael's face.
Raphael opened his eyes slowly, his amber eyes dull with pain. They stared up at Donatello for a moment before rolling to the side to search for Leonardo.
"Leo…" Raphael breathed again, his breath fogging up the oxygen mask cupped over his beak.
Leonardo joined Donatello then and felt for his brother, finding Raphael's reaching hand he grasped it in his own.
"Hey, Raph," Leonardo said quietly, all the anger draining from his voice as quickly as it had come. Now he simply sounded defeated. Donatello hated that more than he hated the yelling.
"Leo," Raphael said, squeezing Leonardo's hand softly. "We knew ya'd come fer us. We… we didn't think ya would've… "
Raphael's words were cut off by a fight of coughing. Donatello peered at him anxiously, his eye ridges coming together as he looked Raphael over from top to bottom. Raphael would have rolled his eyes if he had had the energy to do so.
"Raph's right, Leo," Michelangelo said looking anxiously at his brother. "We knew ya'd come for us."
Leonardo released Raphael's hand, turned, and without another word left the infirmary.
"Why is he so mad?" Michelangelo asked, stung.
"Cause ya thanked 'im, Mikey," Raphael said sounding a bit breathless after his bout of coughing.
"But I don't… " Mikey started, confused.
"Think about it, shell for brains," Raphael said impatiently letting his eyes close again. "When Leo had 'is sight did ya ever thank 'im fer savin' yer sorry shell?"
Michelangelo thought about it for a minute. "I don't remember."
Raphael snorted, then winced. "Of course ya didn't. It was just somethin' ya took fer granted. Leo was always der when ya needed 'im ta be. Ya never thought twice 'bout it. Fer Leo it was just part of bein' a brother. But now yer thankin' 'im fer stuff ya used ta just expect 'im ta do. Kinda like ya wouldn't think he'd do it now dat he's blind. Like he's weaker and ya expect less of 'im."
"I don't think of him that way!" Michelangelo said angrily.
"I know ya don't, Mikey," Raphael said patiently. "But Leo sees 'imself in a different light des days. When ya start thankin' 'im fer stuff he used ta do without ya thankin' 'im, yer insultin' 'im. Ya shouldn't expect any less of 'im than ya did before. If ya do it makes 'im think ya see 'im different too."
"Oh… " Understanding dawned on Michelangelo's face, he bit his lip and looked towards the infirmary door, where Leonardo had disappeared. He'd apologize the next time he saw him, he hadn't thought of it that way, but with Raphael putting it out on the table like that it made Michelangelo realize how it had sounded when he had thanked his brother for rescuing them.
"How's the pain, Raph?" Donatello asked.
"Feels like I had a knife stuck in me," Raphael didn't bother opening his eyes.
"You were lucky it didn't hit any internal organs," Donatello scolded.
"Ya say dat like it was my idea," Raphael sounded amused.
Donatello shook his head, he could tell his brother was definitely on the mend. "You'll have to take it easy for a while, Raph. Don't think you'll be up for much of anything for a while."
Raphael snorted. "I coulda told ya dat, Donny."
"I'll give you something for the pain. It'll make you tired, but sleep will do you good anyway."
Raphael didn't argue as Donatello filled a syringe and eased it into his arm. After a few minutes Raphael's breathing evened out into the deep rhythm of sleep once again.
"You want something to eat, Mikey?" Donatello asked.
"Uh, sure," Michelangelo turned slowly to look at him. "Donny?"
"Yeah, Mikey?"
"Do you think Leo's… ? Is he going to be ok?"
"He'll be ok, Mikey. Give him time to cool down ok? I know it's hard sometimes but we have to remember that he's still the same Leo."
Michelangelo nodded. His brothers were right. Leonardo would always be the oldest, the one who trained the hardest, the one he could depend on when he needed him, the one whose loyalty and devotion to them was never questioned. Leonardo would always be their big brother.