Raphael took a sharp breath as Leonardo and Greg helped him into his bed. He didn't want to sleep, but he'd felt like he was nodding off in the Great Room, and it was embarrassing.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Leo asked for the third time.

The red-masked turtle shook his head. "I'll be fine, Bro; I'm just wiped out. Can't figure out why - it isn't like I've been running laps."

"I think being injured this way does that to you," Leonardo suggested. "Got your phone in reach?"

"Always."

"Call us if you end up needing something," Greg told him.

"Okay, you guys. I'll be fine," he insisted. "It's a couple of bum legs, it's not like I'm..." Raphael had been about to say "dying", but it didn't feel appropriate.

Leonardo sighed softly, and Greg shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

"I think I should go do that thing now," Greg announced, and backed out of the room.

Raphael snorted. "He's real subtle, huh, Fearless?"

Leonardo gave him a thin smile as he leaned against the side of the mattress. "Almost as subtle as you," he quipped.

"What's up, Leo? You got something you need to say?"

The blue-masked turtle hesitated. "I wanted to make sure you're okay with everything, Raph. I know this is a difficult situation...but I honestly believe Caleb coming is the best thing that could have happened."

"I'm not gonna argue with that, Leo," he replied. "I'm happy the guy's here, for Mike's sake. He's kinda the only shot Mike has, isn't he?"

Leonardo sighed softly. "So it would seem."

"I can't pretend I'm completely comfortable with him, Leo, but what choice do we have? Then again, if Caleb just wanted 'specimen' to study, he could have called the authorities when you were at his place overnight. We outnumber him here, we're in the middle of nowhere, and no one's gonna leave him alone, right?"

"No," Leo said quickly. "We're going to keep an eye on his comings and goings."

"That, and he's got no reason to be near Liv. Back me up on this, Fearless."

"I will, Raph, I promise."

The red-masked turtle broke eye contact with Leonardo and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm kind of getting the feeling from Mike that he's more worried about finding a solution for the rest of us than he is about surviving period." Raphael shook his head in frustration. "Why does it have to be this way, Leo? We're walking along, just starting to think it's safe to relax and be happy, and wham. It's like running into a brick wall head-on."

His brother exhaled shakily. "It stinks, Raph. I don't understand it any more than you do. But if there's any team on the planet that can figure this out in time, I think it's the one we've got here."

Raphael nodded. "Speaking of which, you'd better get out there and see to it that everyone's making nice with Caleb."

Leonardo gave him a strange look. "It sounds like the 'happy juice' is kicking in, Bro."

"Is that the official term for it?"

"That's what Mike has been campaigning for."

"Sounds good to me," Raphael murmured as he relaxed his head on his pillow. "Don't let me sleep too long, Leo. I'm starting to feel like an old man as it is."

"You're injured, Raph. There's a big difference."

All traces of Raphael's weariness fled briefly as the phone vibrated on the table next to the bed. He reached to retrieve it, and saw Brandon's name pop up on the screen. "It's Bran, Leo. I'm gonna take this."

The blue-masked turtle nodded. "Make sure you get some sleep too, Raph. I'll see you later."

Raphael hit the button to answer the phone as Leo turned to leave the room. "Hey, man," he greeted Brandon. "When are you getting your tail down here already?"

"As soon as the stupid hospital releases me to fly. This wouldn't be a problem if you guys weren't hogging the pilot."

"First come, first serve," Raphael said smugly. "Seriously though, are you doing okay? Why won't they let you fly?"

"Some crap with my blood pressure being so out of whack. They've had me on a new medication for a couple of days, but they want to give it a few days of observation before I'm cleared to go. April was there when the doc said it, and she's insisting on playing by their rules."

"That's probably the best thing for you, isn't it?"

"Can't I just complain to you without having to hear the same lecture I get from everyone else?" Bran asked sardonically.

Raphael had to grin. "How long will it be before you can work again?"

"Well...training the field Agents is kind of on hold right now as it is, with Javits being destroyed and all. There's other work around that I could do, but Kelley is encouraging me to go on short-term disability because of my collarbone. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm pretty anxious to get out of this city."

"How are things with New York?"

"You'd think we were at war or something, with all the military presence and the destruction in certain areas. I haven't heard about any significant rise in criminal activity, so it sounds like curfews, the cops, and the soldiers are making an impact."

"Good to know. Wouldn't want people to miss us."

"I miss you guys, if that means anything to you."

"We miss you too," Raph said glumly. "I miss a lot of things, like having some shred of freedom."

"Are you in much pain?"

"From time to time. I can deal with it mostly, and the pain meds are there when it gets too intense."

Brandon was silent for a long moment.

"Bran?"

"Sorry, Raph. I feel awful about all of this. I can't help thinking that it's my fault."

"Your fault that we had an earthquake and aftershocks? Bran, you don't have that much power." Raphael snorted.

"You know what I mean. I'm really sorry, Raph. As soon as they let me off the leash, I'll be down there to help however I can."

"Well I don't need any more babysitters, but the company would be nice. I think you would do Mikey some good too."

"How is Mike?"

"I'm not sure. He's still himself, I guess, just more subdued. I think he's actually handling this better than the rest of us are. Did you hear about the mess from the Institute last night?"

"I got the short version. Luke said that his friend was coming to stay with you for a while. Does the guy check out?"

"As far as we can tell. He and Mike had some 'meaning of life and everything' chat, and apparently Caleb's gonna try and save him."

"That's good news, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but nothing is certain. The research hasn't even caught up to actual trials with humans yet, so it means experimenting with Mikey...and that makes me nervous. I don't wanna see him suffer."

"No one does, Raph. But this is the best chance he has, right?"

The red-masked turtle nodded like Brandon could see him. "It's a shell of a lot better than watching Don and the docs struggle without any hope of saving him to begin with. I don't know, Bran. I'm trying to believe that everything will work out, but it's hard to do."

"I'm sorry, Raph. I wish I knew what to tell you, but it all feels like it would be empty words. I'll be there as soon as I can. Victoria is looking into flights for next week."

"Sorry we stole the pilot. And the plane."

"Nah, it sounds like Greg is where he needs to be, helping everyone else get into trouble. I'm eager to see him too."

"I'm sure you are. I'm really tired, Brandon, so I think I'm gonna have to let you go. Call me later?"

"Sure, Raph; I'll check in tonight. Get some sleep."

When the red-masked turtle came around, he was half-afraid that he'd slept the entire day away. He was relieved to see light still coming in the windows, though it appeared to be fading. Raphael reached for his phone to try his brothers, but didn't get either of them on the first try.

Okay, guys...you said you wouldn't forget me, he thought with irritation, and dialed Greg's speed-digit instead.

"Hey, Heff," he said when the man answered. "Could you give a decrepit turtle a hand? My bros aren't picking up the phone."

"Oh...they're working out, Raph. Hang on, I'll grab Marc, and I'll be right there."

The two men came to help him, and Raphael was surprised when they brought him to a silent Great Room.

"Where is everybody?" he asked.

"Becky's getting her first real pictures of the baby taken," Marcus replied with a grin.

"And you wanna be there too, don't you, Marc? Don't let me hold you up."

The doctor didn't need further prodding to get back upstairs. "I'll make copies, Raph; you'll get to see the baby too."

"Okay, thanks, Marc. You go ahead, and I'll be cool right here." The turtle glanced at Greg, and noticed the man hovering in the middle of the room. "Were you in the middle of something too, Heff?"

"Dinner," Greg said apologetically. "I've got the chicken in the oven already, but there are still sides left to pull together."

"Why don't you go do that? I'm about starving."

"I could make you something else first. I don't want you to wait if you're hungry."

"I think I'll survive, and I can call you if I need something," Raphael added before Greg could tell him to.

As Greg cast a look over his shoulder at the kitchen, Caleb came hurrying out.

"The pot was about to boil over, so I took it off the burner," the older man said.

"Good catch; thanks, Caleb. I've got it from here. Why don't you and Raph...hang out," Greg ventured.

The bespectacled man cast Raphael an apprehensive look, and the turtle was careful to remain impassive.

"Okay. We'll be here," Caleb agreed.

Raphael tracked the newcomer curiously as Caleb headed for one of the chairs. He appeared to get sidetracked en route, and ended up staring outside instead.

"Oh, wow," Caleb said under his breath.

"What?" Raphael asked. "I can't see it, so you're gonna have to be more specific."

"Your brothers."

The red-masked turtle smirked. "What are they doing? Working out separately, or laying into each other?"

Caleb cocked his head. "They fight with each other?"

Raphael chuckled unintentionally. "Not for real. It's sparring, to practice certain skills. We have to stay sharp somehow. Well, they're getting to anyway. Me and Mike gotta sit out for who knows how long."

Caleb gave him a closer look. "That must be difficult when you're used to being so physical."

"It sucks, but there's nothing we can do but wait." Raphael felt the weight of the months of therapy that were ahead dragging him down again. He averted amber eyes to focus on the wall, as the fear of losing the use of his left leg returned to mind.

"You did a good thing," Caleb said quietly, drawing his attention. "Marc told me you saved someone's life in the process of being hurt."

Raphael shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I only reacted. What's your deal, if you don't mind me asking? What made you so willing to come up here and put the rest of your life on hold?"

"I answered that question a couple of times. You don't have to be worried about my motivation, Raphael. I'm here because of Luke, and because you guys need a break. I hope that you can learn to trust me."

Raphael maintained his gaze. "Trust is a big thing with you, isn't it?"

Caleb smiled tolerantly. "I try to be as up front as I can be, in every situation that I'm in. So when my integrity gets questioned, yes, I get offended sometimes. Maybe that's asking too much as far as this group is concerned."

Raphael winced. "It shouldn't be asking too much for someone to give you the benefit of the doubt, but that's not a luxury we can offer people on a whim. The wrong person finds out about us, and it's all over. We don't like expecting the worst out of people, but it's not easy to tell the difference when you're just looking at them."

"I understand," Caleb answered. "I want you to know that I'm not going to hurt any of you, at least, not on purpose. I can't say what will happen with Mike."

"Is he gonna be in pain?" Raph asked tightly.

Caleb shook his head. "I hope not. You do believe that I'm not going to hurt him on purpose, don't you?"

"Well, sure, you don't strike me as being an idiot with a death wish," Raphael said half-seriously.

The man gave him a cautious smile. "It's not safe to get on your bad side, is it?"

Raphael shook his head. "You don't wanna know how dangerous we can be."

Caleb looked out the window and took a sharp breath. "I can get a vague picture, I think. The four of you combined must be virtually unstoppable."

"Those were the days." Raphael sighed longingly. "Not like now."

Caleb looked sympathetic. "You guys have had it rough over the last couple of weeks. It must have been hard to leave your home."

"We keep saying it could have been worse, but then it seems to be getting worse," he said dejectedly. "Shell, I'd do anything to take Mike's place if I could. It shouldn't be him."

"Would it be better if it was someone else?"

"Only in my mind."

"It's possible you may be able to help him, if you really want to know."

Raphael's head jerked upright. "Help him how? You know we're not really related, don't you? He and I don't even have the same blood type."

Caleb folded his arms across his chest. "According to the latest research, the differences in your DNA might not even matter. But that gets a little complicated, so I think I'll get into specifics later."