Raphael smoothed his hand across Olivia's shell gently. He watched her breathe deeply inside the soft "nest" he'd built for her for sleeping. It had taken the little turtle over an hour to settle down, even though he'd made sure she was full. Feeding Olivia was usually one of his sure-fire tricks to getting her to sleep more easily, but tonight it hadn't done him much good.
It's been a really tough day though. Kid doesn't have a clue what's going on, and she wants her Mama. So do I, he thought ruefully, as he drew a blanket on top of her. The night wasn't a cold one, but he still felt like she needed the extra protection. Raphael cast a swift glance across from where he was sitting to see Leonardo and Donatello.
His two brothers' sleeping forms were barely illuminated by the dancing flames of a small fire. They didn't technically need the fire for heat; it was nothing more than a comforting companion that Rebecca had suggested, and it allowed them to save the power in the electric lanterns. The curly-haired woman seemed like she was fully in her element, and it was interesting to watch Mike's girl take on a stronger role.
Becky's one of those people who's perfectly content to let someone else lead, but if somebody doesn't stand up, she can step right into those shoes.
The red-masked turtle's gaze shifted back to his brothers, and he focused on Jenna this time. She'd been sitting cross-legged on the ground near Donny and Leo ever since the extreme dose of tetrozine had kicked in. It certainly hadn't taken them long to drop off to sleep. Raphael hated the delay, especially now that night had finally fallen.
Shell, I just don't wanna be here. I mean, I do want to be around for the others, but...
The responsibility to keep Olivia safe rested firmly on his shoulders, but he dearly wanted to know that everyone else was all right too. Raphael had been a little occupied trying to get the baby to sleep, and now that it was quiet, he realized that he couldn't see Michelangelo.
"Hey, Becky," he said softly. "Where's that husband of yours?"
"Mike's not far away," she answered. "He's on the overlook. Mike was acting like he wanted some space."
Raphael cast a swift glance at Olivia. "Do you mind keeping an eye on her for me? I ought to try to talk to him."
Rebecca nodded. "I think that's a good idea."
The red-masked turtle stretched, got to his feet, and ambled in the direction of the broken down portion of the wall. He heard Mike's muffled coughing before he saw him, and he grimaced with concern. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the increased darkness, he spied the shadowy outline of his youngest brother sitting near the edge of the cliff. Raphael saw the city laid out in front of him as he approached, but there weren't nearly as many lights as usual. Large portions of the surrounding area were blacked out, only adding to the general heaviness of the atmosphere.
"Hey, Mikey," he said casually.
His brother nodded to acknowledge him, his uncharacteristic silence persisting.
"Whatcha doin'?" Raphael asked, for no other purpose than getting him to speak.
"Nothing," he replied dully.
Raphael looked at him closely, and noticed that Mike's arm was gripping his chest. "What's the matter, Mike?"
"It's been a long day, Raph. My chest just feels really tight."
"Are you having trouble breathing?"
"No, bro, I would have told you. You saw me today. I've been fine."
"You don't look or sound normal."
"How am I supposed to act, Raph? Should I be doing cartwheels and laughing it up? We probably just lost one of the only homes we've ever had. We don't know where the others are. We don't even know how the city is."
Raphael sighed inwardly. He didn't always enjoy being in the position of acting as the "encourager". In his mind talk was cheap, and actions mattered a lot more than any speech he could give Mike. But that didn't change the fact that his youngest brother was looking for support on his own terms.
"I'm not saying things aren't bad, Mikey," Raphael started slowly. "Sitting here is driving me crazy. I want to find the girls, and I want to know that everyone else is okay. But all things considered, this could have been a lot worse. We might have lost Donny, or he could have been hurt really badly." The red-masked turtle hesitated, casting a glance out at the shadowed city. "Truth is our world's always been kinda dark, Mike, even in the best of times. You don't feel like the ball of sunshine that can light it up right now, and I don't want you to fake it. But we're still here, aren't we?"
Michelangelo nodded mutely.
"Be honest with me, bro," Raphael said seriously. "How are you doing?"
Mike answered him with a shrug. "It wasn't that hard to keep up today, but I'm definitely feeling it now." He cleared his throat with obvious discomfort. "Becky's worried about me, and I don't want to give her anything else to stress over."
Raphael gave him a sidelong glance as he carefully considered his words. "Is Becky okay? She said she was getting seasick on the Slider earlier, and nothing like that's ever happened to her before."
Michelangelo's shoulders rose again. "I don't know, Raph. Today was the first time she mentioned that she was feeling anything weird. I mean, she's been getting tired earlier, but I kind of thought she was trying to get me to rest more. Now I'm not sure about anything." He ended on an intense note. "Donny was so nervous, I'm scared to see the city up close. I've been watching fires pop up all over the place."
Raphael had noticed the orange flames in the distance too, though he hadn't wanted to mention them. "New York is a tough city, Mike. Its people can bounce back, no matter what happens."
"I hope so," Mike murmured. The orange-masked turtle suddenly jerked in surprise, and his hand snaked toward his belt. He came up with a vibrating cell-phone, and didn't even take the time to look at the display before answering it. "Hello? Can you hear me?...No, it's Mike!"
Raphael caught him by the shoulder, and his blue eyes flicked up to him.
"It's Heff, Raph! Hang on a second, lemme talk to him!" Mike returned to the phone. "We're okay, Heff, we made it out...No, we're not all together. Karina and Calley weren't at home when the quake hit! They were supposed to be in meetings at Lincoln Center...Yeah, they have the van, so we're on foot...The Park. We made ourselves at home in some little stone fort...No, I'm not joking. Do you think I'm in the mood for that?"
Michelangelo paused for a longer period of time, listening. "So Marc and April are okay? What about Bran, did you meet back up with him?" His expression remained unchanged. "Oh, no one else?" Mike sighed softly. "Aw, Heff, I'm sure you've done your best. Don't feel bad...Um...well, no...you can't talk to Donny. I mean, you could, but he's kind of out of it...No, he's not hurt. You can't talk to Leo either...I swear they're okay. We had a little problem earlier, but everything's fine...No, I don't expect that to make sense. We're in the northwest corner of Central Park. Have you ever heard of the Cliff?...Yeah, it's hard to get here. We'd appreciate the wheels, but have you had any sleep? You can't go on forever, man. Sooner or later you're gonna-"
"Mike," Raphael interrupted firmly. "Give me the phone."
His younger brother decided not to argue and simply handed the phone over.
"Greg?" Raphael held his breath while he waited to hear his voice.
"Hey, Raph." The man sounded tired. "What's going on? What's the deal with Leo and Donny?"
"Nothing, Heff. We had a close call, but everything's gonna be all right. Donny got caught up in the flood, and Leo ended up having to fish him out. They both took a big shot of the antibiotic to make sure they wouldn't get sick, and the drug makes 'em tired."
The man released a shaky breath. "I want to find you guys. I've been sitting at St. Joseph's with April for hours. I can't keep this up. I've been coming up empty trying to reach the others. I could really use Donny's scanner."
"Uh, yeah...about that..."
"Don't tell me it's busted, Raph."
"Okay, I won't tell you. Donny's Lab got totally trashed, Heff. You can fill in the blanks."
Greg grunted something indiscernible. "Well...Marc is tied up helping with patients, but his own version of the scanner should be back at the apartment. April and I tried to get in earlier, but the placed was still cordoned off by the police. I'll sneak in if I have to."
"Heff, listen. I promised Leo I wouldn't go anywhere. I gotta wait for my bro to snap out of it before I can leave, and you need to get some rest too."
"Raph, you don't understand." Greg's voice broke. "I was told Doc and Kat's loft went down in the quake. It's gone. I couldn't get near it, but my source proved reliable in the other information he gave me. I can't sit here wondering if they're dead or alive."
Raphael couldn't find suitable words for a few seconds. "Get the scanner, Heff," he said flatly. "I'd feel better knowing everyone else is in one piece too."
"I'll do my best, Raph, then I'm coming to find you guys."
"Heff, we're the last ones you need to worry about. I'm serious; we've got everything we need, and we're...relatively safe."
"I'm gonna play this by ear. I'll get into Marc's building - with or without permission, and I'll see how far my Jeep can carry me. The traffic is bad, and a lot of streets are completely clogged. I'm just glad I figured out how to switch the settings on my phone to use the satellite."
"I'm glad you did too, Heff, and I'm glad you're okay. We'll keep Donny's phone on us until he wakes up. Try and get through if you find out anything else."
Greg mashed the call button for the elevator, and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the car to reach him. It was making several stops before it could ascend to his floor.
I don't think I've ever seen the hospital like this. Even with the World Trade Center and the United Nations, I don't remember it being this bad.
He was almost ready to give up on the elevator altogether, but it was getting close to his level, and he'd already waited this long. It didn't make sense to abandon it now. Greg backed up several feet as the car arrived, allowing room for people to get off. A handful of men and women surged off the elevator, and he spotted a familiar figure near the back of the group.
"James!"
Katherine looked a little startled, but she got over it in a flash. The woman shoved past a couple of people that were dawdling in front of her, and she dashed to meet him with obvious relief. Greg wasn't completely surprised to find his eyes stinging as he embraced his former partner.
"James, I thought you could be dead!" he blurted out before he could stop himself. "I heard about your building and I was so afraid..."
"I wasn't there," she replied, her answer slightly muffled by his shoulder. "I left about two hours before the quake hit. It was my long day at the gym, and Brandon was supposed to be meeting me there eventually. Then everything went crazy! He never arrived at the gym. I don't know if he got caught somewhere else en route, or if he ever left the Civic Center at all."
"What about Luke and Reina?"
Katherine gripped the ends of her burnished hair tightly, as if she was going to pull it out. "Greg, I don't know! At the time when the quake happened, she normally would have been taking her nap! Reina could have been off schedule because she's been fussy. Luke said he thought she had an ear infection. I tried to find out about them. I logged several miles on foot all over the East Side, and couldn't find out anything. I've looked and looked! I don't know if they got out, Greg!" Her voice cracked with desperation.
She was the most broken that he'd ever seen her, and it was physically painful to see. Greg settled both hands on her shoulders.
"We're gonna find them, James, and we've got the secret weapon to do it. It may mean sneaking across a police line, but there's a scanner upstairs in Marc and April's apartment. We can track Luke; we just have to go get it."
"Reina doesn't have an implant," Katherine said wistfully.
"True, but they would have been together, right? We find Luke, we find your baby."
"And the technology could help us find the others too," Kat said evenly, gathering self- control.
"Oh!" Greg almost smacked himself in the forehead for his blunder. "I just talked to Mike and Raph a few minutes ago. They're all fine and together, except that Karina and Calley weren't there when the earthquake happened. The rest of them have taken shelter inside Central Park."
Katherine breathed a little more easily. "That's a huge burden off my shoulders, but it sounds like I still need to find my sister. Are the guys actually safe?"
Greg shrugged. "As safe as they can be on the surface. Mike said they're isolated somewhere that's pretty hard to get to. I want to go after them, but Raph assured me that they weren't in danger. "
"How did you get a hold of the guys? I haven't been able to get worthwhile reception all day."
"I just played with the settings until I got the signal bouncing off the satellite."
Kat blinked at him gratefully. "I don't think I've given your expertise enough credit."
He snorted in return. "Don't call me an expert - it wasn't like that. All I did was play with it."
"Well, let's go get the scanner so you can put the same skills to that technology."