When Leonardo awoke the next morning, part him didn't even want to get up. He'd been fighting with discouragement tooth and nail, and he didn't feel like dealing with the battle. The blue-masked turtle lay silently beside Calley, watching her sleep.
This isn't easy for any of us, but we're not going to shut down. I can't allow myself to be overwhelmed, no matter how I feel. I've got to find the energy to encourage myself, so I can lift the others up too.
I know it's not all on my shoulders. Mike was better last night, and I'm pretty sure Greg had a lot to do with it. Raph took the initiative to get Jenna involved in something else, he reminded himself. At the same time, I still don't feel like there's very much room to breathe.
Concern for Donatello's life that was hanging in the balance and Brandon's well being was accompanied by the anxiety of that which was yet to come. We know that part of the Akiudo is out there now, and that they're up to something, but that's not very much help. I don't know what to do on that front. If we were in Okinawa and we had Donny's help, he'd probably come up with some ideas for tracking their movement. But we're almost 8,000 miles away from there, and Don…
Leonardo rolled over onto his side. The world isn't going to wait for me to catch up. I just have to do the best I can; whatever that means for the moment. The desire to see Donatello was overwhelming his wish to hide in his unhappiness. He got out of bed slowly so that he wouldn't disturb Calley.
He paused out in the hall to check the time on his watch. Almost 6am. Maybe one of the docs is ready for a break. Leonardo was turning toward the Lab, when he heard a crash from the direction of Don and Jenna's bedroom. He didn't hesitate to think or wonder what the sound was; he strode rapidly to his brother's room.
Leonardo was shocked to find Luke on the ground, gasping for breath. "Doc!"
His first reaction was to assist the man, but Luke quickly waved him off, motioning a hand toward the bed. The turtle looked over and saw Brandon tensed, as if preparing to strike. As Leonardo carefully approached, the injured man tried to sit up further, drawing his broken arm protectively against his chest.
The wild look in Brandon's eyes was more welcome than the lifeless shell the man had been, but Leonardo knew it was necessary to calm him down quickly before he hurt himself. Brandon groaned openly as he tried to utilize the muscles in his upper body, but the way he drew up his legs indicated that he still had a method of self defense.
The turtle stepped over a puddle of standing water on the concrete, and stopped a couple of inches short of the bed. "Brandon. Bran, where are you?" Leo asked, hoping to connect to his rational side. "Look at me. You know who I am. There are no Akiudo here, and nobody's going to hurt you. Search it out, Brandon. You know this room. You know my voice. Take a deep breath, and try to calm down."
Out of the corner of his eye, Leonardo saw Luke rigidly rising to his feet.
"I feel like I just got kicked by a horse," the man murmured. "No one ever said taking care of the warriors was easy."
"Are you okay, Doc?" Leo asked, never taking his eyes off Brandon.
"Yes," Luke replied. "He only winded me."
But the man stayed behind Leonardo, waiting to see what Brandon would do next. So far, Bran was only staring at the turtle without blinking or breathing.
"Brandon?" Leonardo called once more. "It's safe to come out now," he said uncertainly. "You're going to need to breathe again, if nothing else. Why don't you start there?"
The bronze-haired man swallowed, his face contorting as he tried to mask his fear.
"You don't have to be afraid," Leo assured him. "I don't know what those men put you through, but they can't hurt you here. You're home, Brandon. Well…you're in our home, which is pretty much the same thing."
"Leo, let's get some more light in here," Luke suggested. "The environment may remind him too much of the basement where you found him."
"Good call, Doc." Leonardo kept his hands in plain sight as he reached to turn on another lamp, and Luke moved behind him to flip on the overhead lighting.
The combined sources cast a stronger glow across the room, and caused Brandon to blink rapidly.
"Look around, Brandon," Leonardo encouraged. "You're not a prisoner. It's okay to relax – you're not in any danger." The turtle shook his head as he suddenly noticed the IV lines that the man had ripped out. "The docs have been taking care of you, doing their very best to help."
Golden-brown eyes looked more confused than fearful now, shifting every direction as he took in his surroundings. "I…how did I get here?"
Brandon's voice was raw, but Leonardo was ecstatic to hear it. "We brought you here, Bran, about 36 hours ago. You're safe."
The man turned his head away from the turtle as a wracking cough tore through his chest. The physical effort the action took appeared to weaken Brandon. Leonardo dropped to his knees by the side of the bed, unwilling to end the conversation so quickly.
"Do you know where you are, Brandon?" he asked.
"The Den." The two-word answer seemed to be all he could manage.
"That's right," Leo said soothingly. "And you understand that no one's going to hurt you?"
The man made eye contact with him reluctantly. "Y-yes."
"I won't make you keep talking, Bran. I just wanted to make sure you understand that you're safe, and we're going to do whatever we can to make you more comfortable."
"Daichi…?" he croaked questioningly.
"He's dead," Leonardo said flatly.
"He was..."
Anything else Brandon was trying to say got lost in the next coughing fit that took him. Leonardo could tell how painful the episode was by the strain in the man's face. The blue-masked turtle glanced back at Luke, and reached for the doctor's arm.
"You remember Luke, right? Your brother-in-law. He's been helping you over the last several hours. He can make you feel better. Will you let Luke help you, Brandon?"
Brandon's eyes were uncertain for a few seconds, but softened after staring at the doctor. "Luke," he whispered.
"That's right," Luke said calmly. "There are a number of things I can do for you, Brandon, but I need to get your IV lines back in first. Is that okay?"
Brandon hesitated, looking back at Leonardo. The turtle started to reach for the man's shoulder, but Leonardo froze when Brandon stiffened.
"Doc's only here to help, Bran," Leo said firmly. "Do what he says. Trust him. Has he ever hurt you before?"
"No," the man said faintly.
Leonardo wasn't certain as to what the man's response meant, but Brandon finally released his injured arm from its locked position a moment later. The blond doctor took that as his sign to proceed, and immediately reached for the disconnected IV lines.
Leonardo stepped over to join Luke as the man made an adjustment to the machine. "He sounds pretty thirsty, Doc. I'll grab some water from the kitchen."
Luke shook his head and guided the turtle closer to the door. "He's not ready for that; the IV will keep him hydrated enough for the time being. I was going to try soaking his nails again to remove more of the embedded dirt. Bran saw the water I was using and completely freaked out. That was when he nearly kicked me across the room. We need to take things slowly, at his pace. At least he recognized us, and he's going to let me help him. Good job calming him down."
Leonardo shrugged. "All I did was talk to him."
"Listen, I'm going to get him to a more comfortable place. He's definitely going to need heavier pain medication. That cough is putting his chest through the wringer."
"Is he sick, Doc?"
"It's probably due to the waterboarding, Leo. That much water inflames the sinuses and it likely ended up in his lungs too. I need to have a closer look at his chest scans. I'm going to focus on him, and then as soon as feasible, I need to have a talk with everyone."
Leonardo nodded. "Family meeting?"
"Give me an hour or so to catch up with Brandon, and I'll be ready to address the others."
"I'll gather them up for you, Doc."
The blue-masked turtle had a difficult time keeping everyone away from the room while Luke was working. Katherine in particular was hard to hold back, but Leonardo was unwavering.
"Bran isn't going anywhere, Kat. We need to wait like Doc said," Leo insisted.
The woman frowned, but didn't disobey him. Leonardo was grateful for the hope he felt in the atmosphere, but even he was getting antsy to hear what Luke was going to tell them.
It took a little longer than the doctor had requested, but Luke finally approached the rest of the clan close to 8AM.
"Sorry to hold you up." Luke looked around the room to make eye contact with everyone in turn. "Brandon is fully aware of the environment, and of himself. He's clearly traumatized, and it took some convincing to get him to let me do what needed to be done.
"He's resting a little more easily now, and it didn't take a long time to gain some trust, so that's a good sign. As I already told Leo, though, we have to do this at his pace. The temptation might be to rush in there to see him, but I want no stress on Brandon whatsoever.
"Keep your contact with him subdued. Don't try to touch him unless he initiates it. Don't ask him any questions. You don't necessarily need to talk at all. We still need to have people with him around the clock. I think he'll be comforted by the sight of familiar faces. We're keeping the room well lit so that Brandon knows where he is at all times. I'm afraid that the condition of the Den mimics that of the basement too closely."
"What about one of the space heaters?" Greg spoke up. "Maybe try warming it up a little?"
Luke nodded. "That's a good idea, and I'll probably implement it. The other thing I need to say is that we have to avoid bringing water around him in any form for the time being. It's safer for your health and better for him mentally."
"Do you think he'll be down for a while?" Karina asked.
Luke nodded once more. "He sustained enough physical abuse to floor him for a few days, and the cough he's developed is only aggravating his condition. We probably need to suction his lungs, but I'm afraid Brandon might not appreciate that very much inside this state of mind."
"How long do you think he'll stay in this state of mind?" Kat asked.
"His hypersensitivity to outward stimuli and physical contact could diminish over the next couple of days, or it might persist," Luke said honestly. "If it ends up lasting longer, he's going to require some special 'handling', for lack of a better term. That means no surprises of any kind." He fixed a look over the three turtles. "I know that you're ninjas, and quiet is your thing. You're going to need to override that directive and make some noise. I mean it. The smallest thing could potentially set Brandon off. I'll be surprised if he doesn't have some angry or violent episodes."
Leonardo peered around the room at the disheartened faces of his friends and family. "We'll support him however we need to, Doc. We're not going to let him down."
Luke finally managed a smile. "You guys shouldn't feel like there's anything you have to say to him. Let Bran be the guide. If he doesn't seem to want to talk, then just be there for him. If you can tell he needs something, offer to help, but don't force it. I know this is all a bit overwhelming, but we're actually in a decent place with Brandon. Not great, but okay."
Katherine got to her feet. "Can I see him, Luke?"
"You and Karina should both come; only remember not to get too excited. Brandon needs calm and peace above everything else."
The two bronze-haired sisters followed Luke back to the bedroom, and Leonardo settled further into the couch cushions with a deep breath.
At least we're getting somewhere with Brandon. Awake and traumatized is better than nothing.