Donatello didn't really mean to stop in his tracks in the middle of the Great Room. There were several things that still needed to be carried inside, and figuring out where they were going to take Raphael was a priority too. Nevertheless, the purple-masked turtle felt as if he was suddenly rooted to that spot under the vaulted ceiling, across from wall-length windows that displayed the surroundings in all their glory.
Greg shifted a bag to his other shoulder as he came up behind Donatello. "Taking it all in?"
Don nodded slowly. "Yeah. It's...a lot more than I imagined it would be."
"You can count on Doc to downplay it. For as long as you've known the guy, you still don't know where his parents' money came from, do you?"
The turtle shook his head. "I think...maybe we're about to learn more about Luke's past than he's ever shared with us before. We'll have to play that by ear," he finished to himself.
Donatello winced as Karina swept by, clutching a wailing Olivia on her side. The little turtle was clinging to the woman's shirt with one hand, and grabbing for Karina's pony-tail with the other.
"I know you're hungry, angelito, I know," she said soothingly. "I'm going to heat your bottle up, baby, just hold on."
Donatello shook his head. It was always dangerous to let Olivia see a bottle before it was actually ready for her to devour.
Well, I'd better put myself back to work.
He walked outside into the cool mountain air that was just cold enough to prove a little uncomfortable, and headed for one of the vans where Leonardo was unloading a luggage carrier.
"Don, c'mere," Luke interrupted him before he could grab something to take inside. "Help Greg and Marc with Raph - I know where to put him and Karina."
The red-masked turtle had yet to get out of the car for a clear view of everything, and Donatello saw his brother's eyes widen in amazement as he was brought forth. "Holy shell, Doc. You've been holding out on us."
Luke smiled at Raphael as the other two men shifted his arms over their shoulders. "Not intentionally, Raph. I haven't had anything to do with this house in a long time. It only became 'available' a few months ago, so to speak."
Donatello couldn't help noticing the grimaces that Raphael wasn't able to hide as he helped the men carry his brother up the small slope to the porch.
"What are you doing with me?" Raphael wanted to know.
"I thought we'd try to get you settled in where you could rest," Luke suggested.
"You mean shut up like some caged animal? No, thanks. Just 'cause I'm a cripple doesn't mean I don't have a voice, or a right to know what the shell's going on around here," he complained.
"We'll take you wherever you want to go, Raph," Luke gently reassured him.
Raphael got quiet as he caught his first glimpse of the Great Room with its massive beams. "This is something else," he said under his breath.
Luke turned to glance at the large windows. "We're going to have to devise something to cover the windows with. We'll want to get on that soon."
"Cover them for what, Doc?" Raphael protested. "Who's gonna see us out here?"
"We're only an hour and a half from Asheville, and the access road is right off the Parkway. It's conceivable that someone could find their way up here, Raph," Luke answered.
"It's also possible that the sky could fall down around us, but that doesn't stop us from going outside," Raphael said gruffly. "We live in the dark 98% of the time, Doc. How can you possibly be thinking of boxing us in?"
"I wasn't trying to, I mean..." Luke faltered, shaking his head. "I'm only trying to protect you."
"You are," Don said quickly. "I think what Raph is trying to say is, the view is too amazing to block out."
The red-masked turtle rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the translation, Genius. I'll be sure to keep you around in case anyone else can't understand me."
Marcus gave Raphael a stern look. "Raph, if you're not feeling well enough to be nice to people, I think you're better off in a bedroom."
"All right, geez. I'm not even allowed to speak my mind anymore? If you guys would let me off somewhere in this area, it would suit me just fine."
Luke motioned toward a leather recliner, and they put him down as Karina came back into the room with a happier Olivia. Donatello saw his brother's face change from pained to hopeful in a flash.
"Kari, c'mere," his brother called. "Can I have Liv? I feel like I haven't seen the kid in two days."
Don smiled as he turned his back, listening to Raphael greet the little turtle. And he thought he wouldn't know how to be a father.
Donatello noticed Marcus lingering nearby his brother, as Greg headed outside and Luke followed. When Donatello stepped out onto the porch after him, he had every intention of telling Luke that he needed to take a load off too. The sight of his friend with an arm wrapped around one of the support columns on the porch stopped him from speaking. Luke's gaze was vacant, as if he didn't actually see his surroundings.
"Doc?" Don said questioningly when a few moments had passed. "Are you all right?"
The man jerked, like he'd just realized Donatello was standing there. "Yes." His voice was far away. "It's a weird feeling, that's all. Being back here, seeing this place. After I lost my parents, I...I didn't think I'd ever have the heart to return without them."
"Do you regret bringing us here?" Don asked quietly.
"What? No, of course not. I'm still trying to process everything I'm feeling, so I don't know how to explain this right now. But I know this was the right thing to do, and I'm glad I had the place on hand."
Donatello nodded. "You should get off your feet, Doc. You have a head injury, and the thing with your back too. If the shoe was on the other foot-"
"Which it has been quite frequently."
"You'd want us to take it easy," Don finished. "Why don't you go hang out with Raph, and try to get him in a good mood?"
Luke groaned. "Why are you punishing me?"
"Olivia will take care of his mood," Karina said lightly as she passed. "He's perfectly content now."
"You hear that, Doc? You're off the hook, so go rest," Donatello ordered.
The blond doctor shuffled into the house, and Leonardo ventured over as Don descended the stairs.
"Is he okay, Don? He looked a bit lost for a minute there."
"I think he's under an onslaught of memories, Leo. I knew coming back here was going to be emotional for him, but he doesn't think it was a mistake."
The blue-masked turtle peered at the door that led to the Great Room. "Let's not press him for information, okay, Don? Whatever he chooses to tell us, he can do it at his own pace."
Leonardo jerked his leg suddenly, and Donatello realized Tiger had just missed pouncing on his brother's limb.
"Do I look like bait to you?" Leo demanded of the feline. "Get in the house, you crazy cat."
The animal ascended the steps as if she'd done it a thousand times before, her tail flicking sharply as she walked across the unfamiliar surface of the wooden planks. Donatello pursued the cat to let her into the house, and Tiger casually trotted inside.
"It won't take her long to adjust," Leonardo remarked.
"I doubt it will take long for us either," Don replied. "I suppose I should go grab something, so we can finish getting everything inside."
Leonardo nodded and continued into the house. Don took one look at the size of the bag his wife was toting, and he hurried to take it from her.
"Jen, do you have to search out the heaviest thing you can find?"
The young woman flicked her black braid over her shoulder as Donatello took the bag from her. "I'm not a weakling, Donny," she replied.
"No one said you were," he answered at the speed of light, giving her a disarming smile. "You can still get your weight lifting in later, I promise. Someone's going to have to haul Raph's shell around."
She shook her head and turned back to the van to grab something else.
Donatello carried the luggage inside to a corner of the Great Room where things were being stacked temporarily, besides groceries that were being taken directly into the kitchen. He was about to go back outside when he heard the now familiar sound of Michelangelo's wheezing from around the corner. He hesitated and peered around the wall, to where the orange-masked turtle was leaning against a doorframe. Marcus was with him, walking him through a breathing exercise.
Don bit his lip, but decided not to interfere. He walked outside more slowly than before, and silently finished helping unload the vans. Once they were empty everyone gathered in the Great Room, and the purple-masked turtle marveled at how easily they fit in the space, with more room to spare.
That's a new feeling. We're certainly not going to be tripping over each other here.
Luke looked more tired than he had a few minutes ago, but he also seemed more relaxed. "All right. There's a lot of house to show you guys, but we can take this one step at a time. The bedrooms are split up over this floor and the second one. There's another room downstairs too. We can figure out who should go where in a little while. Everything else is pretty standard, so I shouldn't have to explain much. But if there are questions-"
"Yeah, I've got one," Greg spoke up. "Didn't this place swallow you and your parents?"
Luke laughed, but it sounded forced. "My parents were planning for the future. They intended to keep this place in the family, and fill it with further generations as time went by," he allowed. "That became a self-fulfilling prophecy. In any case, we weren't alone here constantly. My parents took in patients who needed rehabilitation from time to time. This house has been a refuge for many people through the years."
Leonardo raised his hand. "If I could just speak on behalf of all of us, I want to say how much we appreciate everything you've done, Doc. I feel like this is a pretty big deal, and none of us want to intrude on your personal space."
Luke shook his head. "I can't put up with all of you walking on eggshells around here. What I really want is for you to make yourselves at home. I know it will take a while to settle in, and there's still the equipment we're going to have to wait on..."
"Perhaps not as long as you'd think," Greg offered. "I got an e-mail from Kelley - the booster works great up here by the way-and he already put the call out for the medical equipment we need. He said he put a rush on it, and given the source, things should come together faster than they normally could have."
"That'd be nice," Marc said. "Since that's the case, I'll go ahead and start analyzing the scans on Raph's leg, and design my battle plan."
The red-masked turtle cocked his head. "Are you going to war on my leg, Marc? I don't know if I like the sound of that."
"It's an expression, Raph," he said calmly. "Don't worry. We're not going to do anything without informing you about it first."
Raphael patted Olivia's shell as he suddenly seemed interested in the floor. "Thanks for being here, Marc. I know you gave up a lot, and...I hate that you're separated from April."
"You didn't suggest it, Raph, and you shouldn't feel guilty. April stayed behind to help Brandon. We've all got out roles, so we just have to stick together, and make the best of it," Marcus said bravely.
Luke nodded approvingly. "You said it, Marc. If everyone's up for it, I'll start the grand tour." His gaze fell on Raphael for a moment, and the red-masked turtle waved him off.
"You can leave me be with Liv. We'll hold down the fort while you're gone," Raphael said.
Donatello got up as the others were rising, and smiled at Jenna fondly as the young woman hooked an arm over his.
"You okay? You got quiet on me," she said.
"Hm? Yeah." Don joined the tail-end of the group.
"I don't think it will be that hard to make the best of this place," she murmured.
Don shook his head. "Not since we're here together."