As Mike settled into his seat, he was grateful that Raphael had insisted on taking the wheel of the Slider. A strong weariness had settled over the orange-masked turtle now that the initial adrenaline rush was wearing off. His head was beginning to pound with a vengeance, and he felt like he could barely see straight.

Dude, I didn't even realize I was this tired. I'm sure it's just the interrupted nights with Nate that are affecting me. No way is this related to what happened last year.

Michelangelo had strong memories of the respiratory issues that had nearly spelled certain death for him. He'd been dealing with the sickness at the same time as the earthquake had hit New York City and forced his family's evacuation. The two combined events had proved more overwhelming than anything Mike had ever previously experienced.

Under ordinary circumstances, he would have probably enjoyed their extended stay in the mountains of North Carolina, but finding out that he was dying had put a small damper on things.

I'm still here, he reminded himself. And there didn't seem to be any hope for me then.

The addition of Caleb Wells to their medical team had given them their first ray of hope in being able to fight the genetic condition that would have eventually wiped out all of the turtles. He and his brothers each possessed the same genetic defect that had killed their Sensei years prior, in which the mutation of stem cells in the lungs caused them to attack the air sacs.

Caleb was the expert we needed to get us through it. I'm happy he followed us to New York, but he sure isn't getting much of a chance to settle in. I told him that life with us is complicated, but I figured he'd at least have time to move into the new place in Chelsea before the sky started falling again.

Caleb had been staying with Marcus and April since arriving in the city, and his two border collies had been residing underground with the turtles until the doctor could get into his new home.

We would never have asked Caleb to come with us, but having him onboard to help Doc and Marcus definitely isn't a bad thing. Between the three of them, Donny has to be okay. He has to.

The sound of Luke's breath quickening drew Mike's attention. The doctor was pumping the bag valve mask with which he'd replaced Donatello's oxi fiercely, as the man threw a look over his shoulder at Raphael.

"Raph, I need you to step on it!" Luke ordered. "His heart rate is too low, and I'm worried about the possibility of cardiac arrest. Get us home!"

"You got it, Doc!" the red-masked turtle returned.

Michelangelo gripped his seat harder, suddenly feeling dizzy in addition to the headache. Why did it take me so long to get up? My spidey senses were trying to tell me that there was something wrong with Donny! Shell, why didn't I wake up sooner?

Anger and frustration were boiling over, and he could feel his knuckles turning white from the death grip he had on the bench. Leonardo laid an arm around his shoulders, but Mike didn't feel encouraged.

I won't be able to settle down until I know Donny's safe, and I've got a bad feeling that still isn't the case.

Mike expected an enthusiastic greeting from the dogs when they arrived, but Molly and Noah were curled up on the floor near the coffee table, and only raised their heads as Leonardo and Raphael led the way inside the Den with Donatello. His brothers and Luke hurried straight for the Lab, and Jenna was immediately on her feet to follow them.

Mike quickly inserted himself between Jenna and the door to the Lab, catching the young woman in his arms to prevent her from running straight inside. "Jen, no," he said apologetically. "There isn't time. The docs have to get to work, and they're gonna be doing stuff that you don't need to see."

"But he—"

"No, Jenna," he said more emphatically.

The raven-haired woman was strong, but she was no match for the turtle's muscles.

Mike pulled her back toward the couch. "We have to let the docs do their thing first, sis," he said reassuringly. "They'll come out to talk to us when they can. Until then, we have to stay out of their way."

The desperate look Jenna gave Mike almost broke the turtle where he was standing, but he reminded himself that it was for her own good. Leonardo and Raphael backed out of the Lab a moment later, and Mike breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn't be forced to try to explain everything they'd found by himself.

Mike gave Jenna a wary look as she sank onto the couch in between April and Karina, but the woman didn't appear to be on the verge of making another break for it. He waited for Leonardo to say something, but the blue-masked turtle silently stood his ground at the head of the room.

"Leo, what on earth is happening?" Jenna demanded.

Leo took a deep breath as he shifted from one foot to the other. "The situation is complicated," he said. "The docs need time to get a handle on things. I don't have anything I can really tell you right now, except that Don has a serious head injury and it needs prompt attention."

"Why can't I see him, Leo?" Jen sounded as plaintive as Michelangelo had ever heard her.

"Jen, I can't explain it properly, but his particular issues are life-threatening," Leo said carefully. "The docs have to act right now to save him."

Jenna trembled visibly. "But, I thought…you said…Leo, you were the ones who found him, you have to know something!"

"Jenna, head injuries can be dangerous, especially when they're reoccurring. Donny's seen a lot of action and…" Leonardo trailed off. "I can't explain this. We just have to wait."

Jenna's gaze traveled back to the door of the Lab, and Karina took a hold of her arm.

"Jen, they're the experts," Karina said softly. "Let them do what they do best, and I'm sure they'll tell us something soon."

The "scared doe" look in Jenna's eyes was painful for Michelangelo to see. He wanted nothing more than to offer another positive remark, but he couldn't muster the fake sincerity. Mike was just as frightened as the young woman, maybe even more so because he'd actually seen Donny.

"Where is everyone else?" April asked Leonardo.

"Did anyone ever hear from Bran?" Karina added before Leonardo could answer a word.

"Doc said that Kat talked to the airline, and your brother's plane took off a couple of hours ago," Leo replied. "My guess is that Brandon is on his way to Port Royal, but your sister and Tim were going to check his apartment to be sure. After that, they're heading over to pick up Reina and your Mom, Jenna."

Jenna nodded vaguely, as if she was in a daze. "Somebody remember to wake me up when this nightmare is over," she murmured.

"There are positive things going on, Jen," Calley offered. "At least Donny is home and in good hands. It seems like one of the hardest parts is already over."

Michelangelo swallowed hard, fighting the urge to contradict his sister-in-law. Shell, I don't think it's gonna be that easy, not the way Doc was acting.

The orange-masked turtle was still standing when Luke unexpectedly came out of the Lab. Mike saw a flash of hope in Jenna's eyes, and he only prayed that it was warranted.

"I only have a minute," Luke said evenly, his straight tone giving nothing away. "I had to let all of you know that you won't be hearing from us for a while. We need to operate, and I can't tell you how long it's going to take."

Both Jenna and Leonardo started to speak at the same time, and Luke held up a hand to stop them. "Donny suffered a severe rise in intracranial pressure, which puts him at a high risk for brain damage. There are a couple of different procedures we're considering that could curb the rise in pressure, and we'll figure out which one to go with while we're stabilizing him. I just wanted to warn you that this isn't going to be a short term event."

Jenna leaped to her feet. "Doc, Leo told us that his injuries are life threatening. What are Donny's chances? If this operation goes well, will he be okay?"

Luke squirmed awkwardly in a way that suggested that he didn't want to answer the question. "I can tell you that surgery is his best hope for survival."

"Doc, I want to know exactly what we're facing," Jenna said insistently.

"No, you don't," Luke said bluntly. "You think you do, but you're better off letting me tell you things as they transpire. I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The blond doctor returned swiftly to the Lab, and Mike reached for Jenna's shoulder.

"You heard him, Jen," Mike said more bravely than he really felt. "They're doing the surgery, and it means Donny's gonna have the best shot at making it. He lasted long enough for us to get to him, and he made it all the way home. There's no reason to think the worst."

"It feels like I have every reason to think the worst, Mikey." Jenna's voice wavered.

Mike's arm tightened around her as he felt Jenna tremble, and he guided her toward the couch again. "It sounds like Doc just doesn't want to scare you, Jen. If he knew something for sure, he would have told us. But he doesn't know, so he doesn't want to torture us with the possibilities," he suggested.

"It's torture either way." Jenna choked. "I can't believe I fell asleep. I was waiting for him to come home. I should have kept waiting!"

"Jenna, it is not your fault that Don's hurt," Rebecca spoke up before anyone else could. "Don't fall into this trap. You had nothing to do with what happened out there tonight."

As Jenna sank into the couch cushions she pressed her face into her hands in a futile attempt to camouflage rising tears. April and Karina huddled closer to Jenna on the couch, offering only silent support while they waited together.

Mike felt a hand brush the back of his head, and turned to see Rebecca. The young woman hadn't bothered with settling into a seat of her own. He held her uncertain gaze, sensing the questions she wanted to ask, but dared not to in front of Jenna.

"Are you okay?" Becky asked finally.

Mike shrugged. "I don't know, Beck."

The curly-haired woman crossed in front of him, and he gathered her in his arms.

"I'm scared," he said into her ear.

"So am I," she whispered back. "But we can't allow ourselves to lose sight of hope either."

A little over an hour had passed when there was a knock at the door, and Raphael bolted to answer it. Timothy walked in with Victoria, and Katherine brought up the rear with a sleeping Reina.

Jenna rose to meet her mother, and Mike had a small sense of relief as the young woman rested her head against Victoria's shoulder.

I'm glad the rest of them got here. Jen really needs her mom right now.

"Why don't you let me take Reina, hermana?" Karina offered. "I can put her upstairs with Olivia."

"Wait," Katherine said quickly. "I need to know what's going on first. What happened with Don and Brandon? Luke said something about a fight."

Mike watched as several pairs of eyes seemed to look away from Kat at once.

Karina cleared her throat. "Kat…Brandon found out that Donny has been searching for our father, and he went a little ballistic."

"What?" Kat's tone immediately rose. "But I'm the one who put him up to it! Didn't Don tell Brandon that I asked him for help?"

"No," Leo answered. "Donatello told us, but that wasn't until after Bran had stormed off, without his phone."

Katherine swore. "You guys, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I feel like it's all my fault!"

"Everyone's going to try and take the blame for this," Leonardo said smoothly. "But it isn't going to help matters, and it simply isn't true. Don was attacked. I can try and say it was my fault because I didn't go with him. Jen would like to blame herself because she fell asleep. Raph wishes he'd volunteered to go instead of Don, and I bet Mike is even blaming himself for not waking up sooner.

"We all need to realize how pointless this is. We could feel guilty until the end of time, but it won't change the fact that none of us are directly responsible for what happened," he finished. "Now…did you find anything at Bran's apartment?"

Kat shook her head. "We didn't stay long, but it looked untouched, and everything was locked up. I didn't see any luggage, so I'd say he caught his flight."

Leonardo sighed. "Then we won't be able to contact him, because he doesn't have his phone."

"What about Heff?" Raphael asked.

Leo shook his head. "I'd rather not call Greg until we have something certain to tell him. I think we need to wait."

Michelangelo huffed inwardly as his shoulders slumped. Waiting. My favorite thing.