Leonardo was already awake when the key turned in the deadbolt, and he immediately sat up on the pull-out couch as Marcus came quietly inside the apartment.
"Hey, Marc." Leo's eyes were adjusted to the darkness enough to see the man, but the way Marcus jerked indicated that he'd startled him.
The man took a shaky breath. "Geesh, Leo. It's 4am. Why aren't you asleep?"
The blue-masked turtle cast a glance at the young woman sleeping beside him. Calley looks far enough under that it should be safe for me to move without bothering her.
Leonardo got to his feet silently, and waved a hand toward the kitchen.
"What is it, Leo? Why are you up?" Marcus asked in his typical soft-spoken manner.
"I haven't slept much. Too many things running through my mind."
Marc shook his head. "You need rest - all of you do."
The turtle peered at Marcus more closely under the stark lighting of the kitchen, taking note of the dark circles under his eyes. "We're not the only ones, Marc. You've been working too hard."
The man shrugged. "There's too much to do at a time like this."
"Did they kick you out of the hospital?"
"Kind of," he admitted. "I wasn't obeying the guidelines per the length of my shifts."
"I can tell," Leonardo said seriously. "Are you going to get some sleep?"
"I'm going to, but I want to look in on that little brother of yours first."
"Are you talking about Mike?"
Marcus nodded. "I got a text from Donny."
"Ah. So you're not just here because the staff kicked you out."
"Let's just say I didn't have any temptation to fight them on it."
"Don't let me waste any more of your time then," Leo said quickly, but then gave Marcus a lingering glance. "I appreciate you being here for Mike. I know you've been working extremely hard, and that this is the last thing that you need to get bogged down with-"
"You can save your breath, Leo. If I'd known Mike was struggling this way, I would have been here a lot sooner. There are priorities, and there are priorities. You guys are at the top of my list."
"I'm grateful," Leo replied. "But at the same time, you have a responsibility to your real patients."
Marcus rolled his eyes. "What does that make you, fake ones? Please. I get more of a workout from you and your brothers' antics than anything I've ever done in the hospital."
"That's my point."
"What do you expect me to do? Cast all of you to the back of the line?" Marcus scoffed. "You put everyone else ahead of your own health and safety. If Luke and I don't stand in the gap for you, who's going to?"
Leonardo studied the man for a few more seconds. "I guess I should make some more coffee."
Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Do I dare trust you with that task?"
At Leonardo's withering glance, Marc forced a chuckle.
"Yeah, I know nothing's very funny right now," Marcus said. "Is there any coffee left?" He nudged the can that was already sitting on the counter top.
"Yeah, Don wouldn't wipe you out," Leonardo answered. Though I know I've heard it come on at least a couple of times, he added inwardly. I'm glad Marc is here, but I hope he and Donny both can rest soon.
The blue-masked turtle cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway. I'll start another pot, and you can head back to Mikey if you want. April put him and Becky in the guest room."
"Try to relax a little, Leo," Marcus said evenly. "I know a lot of things are up in the air, but we're together. That's the important thing, right?"
Leonardo nodded, and began measuring some grounds as the man left the room. He took a couple of minutes to look over the machine before he even attempted to start it.
This looks simple enough. Even I can't screw it up.
He hit the button to begin the brewing instantly, and was annoyed when nothing happened.
What could I be doing wrong? C'mon, this isn't rocket science.
Leonardo felt rather than heard someone coming, and glanced over his shoulder to watch Donatello stagger into the kitchen.
"Oh, shell. C'mere and sit down, Don."
The purple-masked turtle shook his head and pointed at the coffee maker. "What are you doing over there? We can't afford to lose that machine."
"I haven't done anything," he grumbled. "I couldn't make it work."
A weary smile traced Donatello's lips. "It isn't your fault, Leo. I think the coffee maker was caught in a power surge at some point over the last two days. The timer is messed up, and now it won't brew at all without a little finagling. I could probably fix it for them-"
"I doubt that should be your first priority, Don. Can you make it work temporarily again? Marc looks like he's about to drop, and you're not much better."
His brother tapped an indiscernible pattern over the digital display, then hit the brew button twice to get it powered up.
"Sit down and talk to me, Donny. How's Mike?"
His younger brother's shoulders rose. "I don't know. His oxygen rate remains more stable when he's using the oxi. When I tried to wean him off of it, his numbers started dropping again."
"And he shouldn't need it like that."
"No, Leo, not if everything was normal. But it isn't." Donatello rested his forehead on the table top as the coffee maker began to churn out dark liquid.
"Don, you need to get to bed."
"I need to talk to Marc. We have to compare notes."
"Is Mike resting?"
"He's sleeping fairly well. The coughing fits haven't been as frequent."
Leonardo didn't know what to say. He wanted answers, but he knew that Donatello didn't have any. "Don, look. I know you're doing the best you can, and I really am sorry about what I said earlier. I shouldn't have assumed you were holding out on us."
Donatello's brown eyes flicked up to meet his steady gaze. "I wish I could just protect everyone. I wish I was helping him."
"You are helping him," Leonardo corrected. "Everything is going to work out somehow, just like it always does. In the meantime, I think we both need to concentrate harder on staying positive."
Donny nodded as he slumped backwards against his chair. "This night will end, won't it?"
"All of them do eventually, bro."
Mike was startled when he woke up to bright sunlight streaming into the bedroom from the balcony door. His glance traveled across the room, and he instantly recalled where he was.
That's right. We're on one of those "extended" field-trips.
He reached up to adjust the oxi that was still affixed over his mouth, and pulled the mask off experimentally.
Last night must not have gone well.
Michelangelo's chest shuddered as he took an intentionally deeper breath, but it wasn't as tight as he remembered it feeling.
Wow, those muscles still aren't giving in easily.
He concentrated through a couple more shallow breaths, to see if they would be less painful. The bed felt empty without Rebecca beside him, and he had no real desire to stay in it. The orange-masked turtle glanced at the time on his phone, and grimaced when he realized that it was almost noon.
Mike has just thrown his legs over the side of the bed when the cell vibrated. One more look at the facing of his phone succeeded in exciting him. "Hey, Bran! How are you doing, dude?" He forced strength into his voice so that he would sound semi-normal.
"I'm okay," the man replied. "It's been uh...pretty intense out here. All in all, though, I feel like one of the lucky ones."
"You got drafted into service, huh? How's it feel to be playing the hero?"
"I couldn't tell you right now - I'm too tired. I was actually about to go and crash, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and reach someone."
"You're being safe, aren't you, Bran? You're not like taking your life into your own hands, are you?"
"No more than usual," he cracked.
Michelangelo couldn't muster a smile or a response.
"I'm not doing anything truly dangerous," Brandon said more seriously. "I'm just helping out wherever I can. Oh, and I kicked the crap out of a couple of thugs who were trying to mug someone last night, so that was cool."
Michelangelo huffed good-naturedly. "At least one of us gets to have some fun."
"Trust me, Mikey, I'd rather be doing it with you. How are you feeling? You sound a little...ragged."
"It was a rough night," he answered. "Donny had me on the oxi from about midnight on."
"They're taking good care of you, I trust."
There was a light quality to Brandon's tone, but Michelangelo knew he was only trying to cover up nerves. "Yeah, of course. Are you going to get some sleep, Brandon?"
"I'm on my way. There are still structures left to be searched, but the extra help has already started showing up. Once the National Guard arrives in force, I think things will get a little more organized."
"That would be a good thing. Calley said things are pretty bad on the Lower West Side."
"It's pretty bad all over. If you could see what I've seen over the last two days..." Brandon faltered, and didn't finish the sentence. "Not that I need to tell you. You guys haven't exactly had it easy."
"You mean between running for our lives, seeing Donny almost drown, and trying to stay hidden in plain sight? Yeah, it's been a trip, Bran," he said glumly. "Add in not being able to breathe, and it's shaping up to be the best year I've ever had."
Brandon didn't say anything for a few moments. "I'm sorry I'm not there. When the earthquake first started, you guys were all I could think about. I started off on foot to get downtown from the Civic Center, but then I ran into some people that were trapped. I couldn't just walk by, and it all sort of snow-balled from there. I didn't mean to get so caught up in the rescue effort."
A knock at the door had Mike turning his head. "Hold on a second, dude," he told Brandon, then called toward the hall. "Come in!"
Greg peeked into the room, and Michelangelo waved at him to come in the rest of the way.
"Just a minute, Heff, your roomie finally got around to calling me," Mike told him, and put the phone back to his ear. "Bran, you don't need to apologize for helping out with stuff. You're doing the right thing - we don't need you to babysit us. I mean, we want to know that you're okay," Mike added hastily. "But you don't have to take care of us. Those people out there need you more."
"You're still my family."
"Yep...and we're all here. I have no idea where we'll end up next, but someone will eventually let you know."
"Take it easy, would you, Mike? Don't do anything to push yourself. Just get the rest you need, and feel better."
"Get the rest you need, Bran, and be safe," Mike said sternly. "Don't make me come after you."
"And drag me home by my earlobes?"
"Something like that. Hope I see you sooner than later."
"You will, Mikey. I'll be back with you guys before you know it."
Mike clapped the phone shut and gazed at Greg expectantly. "What's up, man?"
"I thought I heard your voice, so I had to make sure you weren't having a conversation with yourself," Greg joked. The man's teasing tone couldn't hide the elation in his eyes, and it had Mike curious.
"What's that look for, Heff?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's like you're about to burst or something." Mike nodded knowingly as he remembered where he'd seen the look before. "You talked to your girlfriend, didn't you?"
"Technically speaking, she isn't my girlfriend."
"I knew it! Donny used to get that same look when he talked to Jen while they were separated. So, what'd Sayuri say, huh? Was she worried about you?"
Greg looked like he was trying not to smile, but he was unsuccessful. "Sayuri said something about flying out to track me down herself. I don't know where she'd get an idea like that one."
"Nah, me either, Heff." Mike grinned, loving how embarrassed the man suddenly looked. "Sounds like she's pretty into you."
"I don't know, Mike. I mean, we're definitely closer than we've ever been. I was kind of hoping it would have progressed more than this by now, but then, we haven't seen each other since January, unless you're counting Skype."
"Aren't you supposed to be going to Okinawa in a couple of months here?"
Greg shrugged. "Things are a little bit up in the air right now, Mike. I'm just trying to take one day at a time, and hoping that we all make it through."