The steady rhythm of a machine beeping in the background was the first thing to register in Luke's mind. It was such a familiar sound that it didn't strike him as being out of the ordinary. As long as the tones maintained a regular pace, it meant everything was stable.

But who's hooked up to the machine, and why can't I see anything, he wondered through a foggy daze.

As his mind rallied further, awareness finally washed over him. It's me, I'm the one...but where...

Luke immediately tried to move, and found it to be more difficult than he'd expected. The fingers of his right hand twitched in response to his mental command, but he felt nothing except a strange tingling on his left side.

That can't be good. I've got to figure out what happened.

He focused all of his concentration on the effort of opening his eyes, and found himself staring up at a strange sight. Luke had expected to see the drop ceiling of a hospital, so the white draped fabric that reminded him of a tent was surprising.

What? Where the heck am I?

As he craned his neck to look around further in the semi-darkness, pain exploded in his skull, more intense than any physical sensation he'd ever felt. Luke clenched his eyes shut as he waited for it to pass, but the pain only slightly decreased as he remained absolutely still. That was enough incentive for him not to attempt to move again.

Luke's eyes were watering as he reopened them, and he tried merely listening this time to learn more about his strange environment. He'd already realized he wasn't even in a standard hospital bed, which bewildered him further.

Wow, this is weird…There has to be some reason...His thought process felt like it was stalling, as the tingling on the left side of his body became more pronounced. Not good…he thought vaguely. But I can do this. Where was I last?

He wracked his brain furiously, though it was last thing he wanted to do in the midst of the debilitating pain, searching for something he could remember. The Pharmacy, he recalled. Reina's earache.

Luke saw the fireball in his mind's eye as clearly as if it was directly in front of him, and the smell of natural gas seemed be hanging in the air. With the memory came instant panic that flooded his mind rapidly and caused adrenaline to surge through his veins.

Reina!

He rolled onto his numb left side, ignoring the pain that shot through his back like electricity and made his head feel like it was going to explode. The moment he was on his side, he recognized he couldn't move any further even if his life depended on it. As if on cue, a figure crossed through the hanging fabric, and stopped in his tracks when he saw Luke.

"Dr. Barrows, no!" The young man sounded alarmed, as though he thought Luke was capable of rising.

He wasn't familiar - Luke was certain he'd never seen him before. "Help, I need..." Luke slurred, finding a strange difficulty in putting simple words together.

"You need to lie down," he said firmly. "You're in no condition to move, let alone go somewhere."

Luke was too weak to resist the stranger as pressed him back down. "Please. You do-don't…"

"I apologize, Doctor, but you've got to lie down. Everything is in upheaval, and it's been difficult to communicate with the outside. We didn't have any access to your medical history, so we couldn't use any significant medication on you. The pain is going to catch up with you pretty quickly here."

"Y…yes. But…Reina."

"Did you come in with someone else?"

"She's…" Luke took a sharp breath as he tried to gather his wits and force coherent speech. "My baby."

"If the two of you came in together, there should be a note in your temporary file of where she was taken." The young intern stared at him for a few seconds, hesitating. "Do you understand where you are?"

"No."

"This is a makeshift Triage Center, where you're only going to reside until we can find placement for you in a hospital. Do you have any allergies we need to know about? We can get you on something stronger for pain."

His pain was the last thing he wanted to consider. Spasms were running down his back in addition to the monstrous headache now, but concern for Reina and confusion over what had happened to them seemed far more important. "What happ…?" Luke started, unable to finish the question.

The young man quivered slightly. "There was an earthquake. You haven't had the scans you should've had by now. You're on the list to get transferred out of here, but that will probably take some more time. Do you have any drug related allergies?" he repeated.

"I…" Luke heard the words, but they didn't make any sense. It was almost like the stranger had suddenly begun speaking another language. He squinted in confusion as his vision blurred, to the point that he couldn't see anything except for the outlines of shapes and colors.

Luke heard a voice and was able to register that it was the intern speaking, but listening no longer seemed important since he couldn't understand him. He felt a slight pressure on his right arm as he shut his eyes briefly. Amidst the dizzying sensation that the room was moving underneath him, he heard a rapid alarm.

As the hand gripping his arm fell away with a jerk, Luke heard a shout that appeared to be competing with the urgent beeping in the background. He gritted his teeth as both sounds grated through his mind. Luke was strangely relieved when the intern retreated, but he was replaced by several more swimming shapes that he couldn't identify.

All the voices were gibberish; there was nothing to distinguish one person from another, until someone bent over him with a shock of dark hair. Something in the tone of voice rang familiar, and Luke zeroed in on the woman.

"Kat…" He groaned, overwhelmed by the pain and confusion of what was happening to him. He detested the hands that were bothering him; all he wanted to do was find some place quiet where he could rest.

But Reina...

A vision of his baby girl and his wife filled his mind. It saddened Luke, though he couldn't understand why. He wanted to retreat into the memory, to forget about all of the painful sensations assaulting him, and the garbled nonsense going on above him.

His view of the outside world was getting fainter, and the shapes more difficult to make out. Luke actually preferred it that way. The darkness was a luxury he was ready to surrender to gladly, if it meant an interruption of the agonizing headache.

The remnants of concern tugged at the back of his mind as the noise faded, reminding him of…He didn't know what they were trying to telling him. The only thing Luke was absolutely certain of in that moment was that he needed to escape.

Karina trembled, but it wasn't because she was cold. She was so started by Calley's hand on her arm that she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Karina, I'm right here," Calley said quietly. "I know this isn't pleasant, but we need to get to the school. It's a much better alternative than staying on the streets, believe me."

Karina's eyes traveled to the busted out storefront they were presently passing, which was occupied by at least six shadowy figures ransacking the business. "This is insane."

"Don't watch them," Calley returned. "Don't look at them. Keep your head forward, and don't make eye contact with anyone."

It wasn't the first looting that the two young women had witnessed that night. They were almost becoming commonplace, except that there was nothing ordinary about their current situation. Debris, small fires, and people lined every street corner down which they'd traveled in their determined quest to find shelter for the night.

Karina was more scared than she wanted to openly admit to Calley. She was well aware of her sister-in-law's penchant for being able to see through people, but if Karina didn't admit her nerves out loud, she felt like she was hiding them.

I'm older than she is for heaven's sake. Why does Calley have it all together, and I'm a complete basket-case? Any of the other girls would handle this better than I have. Talk about the weakest link.

As tense as the increased crime made Karina feel, concern for the turtles and her daughter were flooding her even more strongly.

Are they safe? Are they okay?

Tears came up with the inner questions, and Calley's arm came around her back.

"We're going to get through this," Calley said. "The others will find us. I really feel like this is the right thing to do."

Lingering in the lower West Side had been Calley's suggestion. By the time they made it to the Battleshell through the panic surrounding Lincoln Center, they'd arrived to find that the van's rear tires were flat. It didn't matter whether the car was disabled or not, because they wouldn't have been able to get anywhere quickly on the crowded streets. Several other vehicles were damaged or broken down, cutting off the flow of traffic in both directions.

The foot traffic had thinned out slightly since night fell, but now Karina felt like the only people left on the street with them were those who were up to no good. Calley had been adamant that the guys would have an easier time getting to them if they stayed in one area, instead of wandering through gang-infested neighborhoods in an attempt to get somewhere. That was what set them on the track deeper into the West Side, searching for the rumored middle school that had opened its doors for quake victims.

Karina glanced over at Calley, noticing the way the young woman was displaying a stone-hard exterior that almost made her look angry.

"Calley, are you..." Karina trailed off as she searched for words. "You're different right now."

Calley focused on her for a moment, before turning her attention forward. "Don't let them smell your fear, Karina. Just keep moving, and don't act uncertain about anything we're doing. These thugs know who belongs here and who doesn't. The more normal you act, the better off we'll be," she said in a low voice. "They're pretty preoccupied with all the free stuff they're getting access to, and that should keep them busy for a while yet. Long enough for us to get to MS250 without an issue. That's what I'm hoping, at least."

Karina had never seen Calley inside this type of environment, and surprise was her first reaction to Calley's nerves of steel. "I'm glad you're here, hermana," she said quietly. "I could have lost my head hours ago. I don't know how you're doing this so calmly and rationally."

"You forget about where I came from," Calley said without looking at her. "When I moved to New York, it was to be with a Dago. I lived with the gang as one of them, Karina. I know how they think. The names and colors may vary between cliques, but their motivation is the same."

Karina nodded. "It's nice to know that I'm in the presence of a professional," she replied without thinking. The Latin woman blanched at the off remark, but Calley laughed under her breath.

"Hey, I survived through the hell of all my bad decisions. I may as well get some satisfaction in using a couple of the lessons I learned along the way."

Karina shook her head at the blond woman. I'm going to have to learn how to stop being surprised by her. She's an enigma, she really is. There's so much more going on under the surface than any of us get to see. It's funny how things work out. I think she's a better match for Leo than she realizes.