Donatello was drawn out of deep contemplation over a certain line of code by a shout that sounded like Raphael. The panic in his brother's voice had him jerking up from the keyboard and dashing out of the Lab. All he could think was to head to the dojo, the last place that he knew Raphael and Michelangelo had been.
He was met first by Leonardo clutching a struggling Olivia, who was trying very hard to crawl to her father. Raphael was kneeling on the mat next to Michelangelo, and the orange-masked turtle was completely still.
The first thought to enter Donatello's mind was the possibility of injury. "What happened, Raph?"
"Donny, he's not breathing, do something!" Raphael backed away to give the purple-masked turtle room.
Donatello's hands instantly went to his brother's ribcage. He didn't feel anything right away, and he was preparing himself to begin CPR, when Michelangelo's chest shuddered under his fingers.
Donny exhaled sharply. "It's okay," he told his brothers. "He's breathing."
Raphael dropped back onto the mat, amber eyes still wide with alarm. "Don, he wasn't...I didn't..."
The red-masked turtle trembled so hard that Donatello was almost concerned about him for a second.
"It's okay, Raph. Take a deep breath, and tell me what led up to this."
"Donny, I don't know! He was fine, everything was fine when I left! I hit the mat too hard, busted my cheek, and went upstairs to take care of it. When I came back, Mike was unconscious, and he wasn't breathing!'
While Raphael explained, Donny probed his younger brother's body, searching for some clue as to what had caused Mike to end up this way. When Donatello had been silent for over a minute, Leonardo didn't hold back anymore.
"What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," Donatello admitted. "His pulse is erratic, and his breathing is...well, it's not normal. Raph, how was he in the spar? Was Mike acting weird?'
"No, I woulda put a stop to it! He was fine, just as annoying as ever. Mike even took me down a couple of times; 'course I was going easy on him," he added defensively. "It was the last throw that I got hurt on, and...he was a little breathless when I left." Raphael shook his head. "I don't understand it, Donny, I just don't!"
Donatello was turning in Leonardo's direction, but whipped his head back around toward Michelangelo when heard his brother gasp. His younger brother's eyes were open now, registering utter confusion.
"Mike? Are you all right?" Donny asked evenly.
"Wh...Donny? How..."
"Don't try to say too much. Can you take a couple of deeper breaths for me?"
Michelangelo's brow creased as he attempted it, and his obvious struggle concerned Donatello.
"Raph, run into the Lab and grab an oxi, okay?"
The red-masked turtle jumped to his feet and disappeared from the dojo, even as Mike put a more serious effort into catching his breath. Donatello helped him sit up, and he tried hard to remain reassuring. He felt the deep shudder that ran through his brother's body as he tried to draw air, and only a wheezing sound came out.
"Don't force it, Mike. Relax, and let your chest muscles do the work for you. Now inhale slowly...and let it back out. Whatever you do, don't panic. I'm right here, and everything's going to be fine." Donny glanced up as he felt Leonardo's stare. "Leo, maybe you should take Olivia somewhere else."
"Forget it, bro, I've got her," Raphael said gruffly as he hurried back into the room. He handed the oxi to Donatello, but then stood transfixed in front of the scene for a few moments longer.
"Raph," Leonardo spoke up. "She does want you, so go ahead and take her out of here, then call Doc. I'll help Donny with Mike."
Wordlessly Raphael took his daughter from Leonardo, and walked out of the room. Meanwhile, the blue-masked turtle leaned down over the mat, and laid a hand on Mike's shoulder, trying to offer some reassurance of his own.
Mike's eyes still registered too much fear for Donatello's liking as he adjusted the mask over his brother's mouth.
"Keep breathing slowly, Mike, and try to stay relaxed. You know how this goes - the mask won't do the work for you, but it should make it easier to get oxygen." Donatello looked at Leo. "Let's get him up and over to the Lab, okay?"
They worked together to get Mike on his feet, supporting him as he sagged in their arms.
"You don't...have to call Doc." Mike wheedled.
Donatello gave him a sharp look. "Stop talking, and don't even try to resist me on this. Concentrate on breathing, and I'm going to run a very simple test."
As Mike's gaze tracked him nervously, Donatello's expression softened.
"This is no big deal, Mikey. This little device here is just going to clip to your finger."
"What for?"
"It will measure the amount of oxygen in your blood. See how easy this is?"
Mike nodded mournfully, and Donatello tried to smile at him.
"Save your breath a while longer, and I'm going to figure out where we're at."
Luke had been hesitating outside the partially open bedroom door for at least five minutes, listening to Donny taking notes out loud while he paced the room.
"...attack may have been induced by physical activity. He claims it's the worst one he's ever experienced, which could indicate a couple of different things. It might be a sign that his condition is escalating, but it could also be a clue that his body is simply exhausted. If his immune system has taken a hard hit, it only makes him more vulnerable to a lot of possible issues."
The blond-haired doctor finally knocked on the door, and he saw Donny freeze in his step with his digital recorder. When the purple-masked turtle saw him, Don sat down on the edge of his bed with a sigh.
"What's going on, Doc? How's he doing?"
"He's stable, Donny, he's been stable. The supplemental oxygen seems to be doing the trick, but-"
"We're still leaving him on the monitors for right now?"
Luke nodded. "Of course, overnight at the very least. You did the right things for him, Don, you've got nothing to be ashamed of."
"Why do you say that?"
"It kind of feels like you're hiding. Marc and I have things under control with observation, but why are you lingering in your room?"
"I'm not trying to hide. I'm just thinking things through. This doesn't make a shred of sense. If it was a simple infection, shouldn't it be following a predictable course? This weird 'on again, off again' effect is blowing my mind. He's trained for at least four days without a problem, only to suffer another adverse reaction now?
"Mike swears he didn't feel anything unusual leading up to it, and Raph says he was acting normal. How does he go from scoring two take-downs in a spar, to having an oxygen absorption rate of 85?"
"Donny, I can't answer that. That's why we're observing him. I know its nerve-wracking, but if you let yourself get too emotional, you won't be able to continue thinking straight. If you need to take a break, then do it."
Donatello nodded stoically, then glanced toward the door that was still partially ajar. Luke followed his gaze, and saw Raphael lingering on the other side of the doorframe.
"C'mon in, bro." Donatello sounded tired all of a sudden.
Raphael staggered forward uncertainly, glancing between Luke and Donatello.
"What's up, Raph?" Donny asked after a couple seconds of silence.
"I...uh...Donny, it's this thing with Mike. He honestly wasn't breathing when I got there, at least...I couldn't feel it. I s'pose I could have been missing it."
"Raph, you know the difference between whether someone is breathing or not. Do you really think you just imagined it?"
"I didn't imagine it." Raphael was indignant. "What are you doing back here, Don?"
"I'm thinking out loud," Donatello replied. "I don't want to freak Mike out with my wonderings."
"And avoiding him isn't gonna freak him out?"
The edge in Raphael's tone made Luke feel like he should interject something, but Donatello was on his feet before the doctor could speak.
"I'm not avoiding him, Raph; I don't have any answers for him. I'm trying to figure this out."
"You're not trying hard enough!" Raphael growled. "You've got your head wrapped up in all these other projects, when you should be focused on your little brother!"
Luke heard Donatello catch his breath sharply, and the man took the opportunity to speak up. "Raph, that's not fair," he said evenly. "We've all been working on this, and Donatello isn't blowing Mike off."
"Then why ain't you getting anywhere? Why's he gotta quit breathing before everything else stops? You guys wanna 'experiment' with him? Well how'd that stress test work out for you? I hope you're satisfied!"
Raphael turned on heel and stalked out the door, leaving a motionless Donatello standing in the middle of the room. The turtle's face didn't register any emotion, but the slight slump of his shoulders told Luke what he needed to know. The man was torn between running after the red-masked turtle to give him a piece of his mind, or staying to reassure Donatello. The calm version ended up winning out.
"Donny...he doesn't mean it."
The turtle shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Doc, whether Raph believes it or not. It doesn't change the fact that we've missed something. I haven't put the emphasis on Mike that I could have. We've been playing things by ear, and it's not enough. We may not know what we're doing, but we have to start researching other...possibilities."
"Don, don't take this personally. You know Raph says things like that when he's upset."
"Doc, it's not about me or him! Raph can run his mouth all day, and it doesn't make a difference. I want to get to the bottom of this: that's what matters."
Luke swallowed. "So...what do you want to do?"
"I need to think some more," Donatello mumbled.
"Why don't you join Marc and I–"
"Not now, okay? I'll come around and bounce some stuff off you two after while."
The note of finality in Donatello's tone indicated that it was time for Luke to go.
"All right, Donny...Whenever you're ready."
Luke quietly shut the bedroom door behind him as he exited to the hall, and he shuffled out to the living area. The man found Leonardo sitting alone, staring into space as if it held the answers to all their questions. He couldn't be certain that Leonardo had heard him coming, but the blue-masked turtle snapped to attention a second later.
Leonardo gave him a bleak look. "Did Raph go off on someone? He came through here like a tornado a couple minutes ago."
"Donny," Luke supplied.
Leonardo gripped the back of the couch with clenched fingers. "I wish he wouldn't do that - it never helps anything."
"No arguments from me." Luke peered at Leonardo closely.
The oldest turtle was probably troubled about Raphael's behavior, but Luke was reading something else behind his dark eyes. Leo almost looked...haunted.
Luke came around the side of the couch and sat down. "Leo, what's going on?"
The turtle held his arms out helplessly. "Where should I start?"
"How about with what's bothering you the most?"
Leonardo's gaze trained down on the floor. "The way Mike sounded earlier today, when he was trying to catch his breath...It reminded me so much of Sensei."
Luke stiffened, and he couldn't find appropriate words right away. "Leo..."
Leonardo's eyes didn't meet him. "That isn't a sound I can forget, Doc. I remember sitting at Master Splinter's side while he was sleeping, even though I hated listening to him struggle. When I heard Mike wheezing today, I just froze up. I should have been doing something. Instead I stood there, holding onto Olivia. It felt like I'd taken a trip back in time to...something I never wanted to hear again."
Luke still didn't know what to say, but Leonardo finally looked up.
"Doc, it's not possible, is it? What Mike's going through isn't the same thing."
"Leo, there are a lot of factors that can contribute to that type of wheezing. We don't have any reason to assume that Mike's condition is related to your Sensei's."
"You don't see any similarities?"
Luke hesitated. "The problem with these symptoms is that they can apply to so many different illnesses and diseases. We don't know enough to make any assumptions. I can tell you that your father's condition didn't present the way Mike's has. Splinter's illness was consistent. The supplemental oxygen helped him remain stable for a while, but he never got any better. With Mike it's been up and down and...unpredictable. We're not going to quit on him, Leo, I promise."
The blue-masked turtle nodded. "I know...and I realize that I'm being paranoid. It's only a memory that I wish I could get rid of."
Luke looked into his eyes steadily. "It's going to be all right. You just need to do what you've always done, Leo, and help the family hold together through this."
Leonardo glanced over to the hallway. "Maybe I should talk to Donny."
"He didn't sound receptive when I left him, Leo. I think he wants some space, but you know your brother better than I do."
The turtle massaged his temples with a sigh. "Isn't this supposed to get easier at some point?"
"That's what we live and hope for."
"This doesn't feel right, all four of us being scattered to our respective corners. I'm just not sure who to deal with first."
Luke patted his shell. "It's not your job to fix everything. Everyone will come back together. Don't get discouraged, okay? We've been through worse spots than this, right?"
Leonardo's eye-ridges rose. "Don't tempt the fates, Doc."