Luke trotted down the steps with a towel still draped around his shoulders. His blue eyes narrowed briefly when he saw the two oldest turtles lingering in the living area, waiting their turn to use the bathroom.

"Do I need to apologize again?" Leo volunteered. "Because I will."

The man clenched his jaw to keep from laughing over their condition. "It was an accident – I get it. It would not be wise for it to happen again."

Leonardo and Raphael shook their heads so fast that Luke had to swallow a chuckle.

"Okay…well, I'm pretty sure that Donny is done too, so you guys should be good to go upstairs."

"Thanks, Doc," the red-masked turtle said meekly.

The two turtles made a dash for the staircase, and Luke made another wary attempt to enter the kitchen. He peered into the room cautiously, and saw the orange-masked turtle wringing out a mop.

Mike cast him a grin. "It's safe to come out now, Doc."

"You decided to help them clean up?"

"Eh, I sort of set the whole morning in motion. I was Leo and Raph's target all along, so I felt bad."

Luke shook his head. "You guys are going to give each other a concussion one of these days."

Mike waved off his concern. "Leo and Raph are total amateurs. Their 'trap' didn't even go off properly, and they shoulda warned anyone else in the vicinity about it."

"Granted – but I still think you ought to be more careful."

"I'll keep that in mind, Doc." Mike nodded toward the counter. "I reset the coffeemaker for you and Donny. I hope Leo and Raph didn't set you back too much."

"No, we won't be doing any real work until this afternoon."

Michelangelo leaned on his mop as he nervously bit his lip. "Um…Donny said that you guys decided to put Master Splinter out after all."

The man nodded hesitantly. "It works the best for the procedure we decided to go with."

"Is it going to hurt then?"

"There aren't any pain-sensing nerve endings within lung tissue. It's really only concerning his comfort because of the way we're going to insert the bronchoscope to take samples. We'll give him a mild sedative through an IV line."

"What will the samples tell you? Will you know what's wrong with him?" The pleading tone in Mike's voice made Luke cringe.

"We're working on it, Mikey."

The turtle glanced down at the floor. "I'm gonna get rid of this water. How about some late breakfast? You in the mood for anything?"

Luke snorted. "As long as it doesn't involve ice cream."

Michelangelo managed a smile. "Leo and Raph might never live this down. If Sensei finds out, he'll probably order a hundred flips out of 'em. There are certain lines you don't cross."

"Once is an accident," Luke allowed. "If they come after me on purpose, there will be consequences."

"I don't think anyone's brave enough to attack you on purpose, Doc."

The man reached for the full coffee pot and grabbed a couple of mugs out of the cabinet. "Pranks are your world, Mike. I prefer to stay out of it."

"Aw…didn't you have a little fun?"

"Not exactly."

"Not even emptying the rest of the whipped cream on them?"

Luke smiled, but still shook his head. "I repeat, it's your thing, Mike."

Luke was studying a print-out when he heard someone else come into the lab, and assumed it was Donny without turning around. "I grabbed you some coffee, Don. I think we need to take another look at the dosage for the sedative."

"We don't necessarily have to put him all the way under," an unexpected voice returned.

Luke swiveled on heel in surprise. "Oh. Hey, Marc. You're early."

"A consultation got cut short, and another appointment was postponed. Hence, here I am," his friend replied. "Donny said he was ready to give back the Avalanche, so I'm eager to get a look at it too."

"I already saw it; he did a great job. It's nice to know a mechanic, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Don also told me that you got initiated this morning."

"More like I got caught in the cross-fire," Luke grumbled.

Marcus chuckled. "What was that like?"

"It was cold mess. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

His friend repressed a grin, barely. "Sure. I brought your mail….a few day's worth. Are you planning on returning to the Main Land any time soon?"

"I'll get around to it. I'm not missing much, am I?"

"Nah – just the usual madness."

Luke flipped through envelopes, scanning sender names rapidly. His search paused when he came to a glossy postcard print featuring a picturesque mountain side and a familiar cabin. He stared at the image mutely for a couple of seconds and turned it over to see the handwritten note on the back.

Wanted to give you a chance to see how the card came out. Susan forced me to look at so many prints, I almost went cross-eyed. She was determined to capture the "spirit" of the house, and we both thought this came close. We'd like your thoughts on it too, and hope to hear from you soon.

-Caleb

Luke glanced up to find his friend watching him.

"Are you looking into some time share?" Marcus joked.

"No," he said quietly. His instinct was to put the postcard away, but something made him hesitate. "This is the place my parents built in North Carolina, Marc."

Marcus did a double-take of the image. "That's where you grew up? It's enormous. You could fit an army in there."

Luke shrugged. "My parents had big hearts. A lot of different people stayed with us through the years, mostly trying to recover from illnesses. An old colleague of my father's and his wife look after the house now." He set the mail aside on the desk, but gave the postcard one last look.

"I'd like to see it someday."

"I'll give you a good recommendation. They're running a pretty swanky Bed & Breakfast out of it."

"Don't you ever miss those mountains?"

"I don't know. I think it's the past with my parents that I miss, not so much the location. It doesn't have the appeal that it used to."

"Think you'll ever go back?"

"I don't have much reason to."

"It was your home."

"Was," Luke emphasized. "And it's being well taken care of." The man cracked his neck distractedly. "Do you want to grab Donny and nail down these details? We can get a jump on the biopsy since you're here."

"Thanks for waiting. I know you don't actually need me for this."

"You're an important member of this medical team, Marc. Of course we want you involved."

"Okay. I'm ready if you are."

The blond doctor was nervous about what they were possibly going to find, but too much time had passed without action. I probably should have started pushing for this weeks ago, but I had a feeling Splinter wouldn't be extremely receptive. We all want to know what's going on with him...but I can't help hoping that his lungs don't tell me a single thing.

The bronchoscopy ended up taking longer than Luke initially planned, but since they'd decided to put Splinter out, he wanted to make the procedure as worthwhile as possible. They'd captured video and taken numerous samples to give them something to work with, and Luke only hoped it would be enough to shed some light on his condition.

The tissue samples were already safely packed away, but Luke saw Donatello's eyes irresistibly drawn to the case from across the room. In a split second, the man made a decision. He quickly slipped off his gloves and stepped in front of the samples, blocking it from the turtle's view.

"Doc…what are you doing?" the purple-masked turtle asked.

"I want you to let me have the first look at the samples, Donny, on my own."

His chocolate-brown eyes widened. "I'm not allowed to see them?"

"I said I want the first crack at them. I can get access to one of St. Joseph's partner labs and use it after hours. They have specialized equipment—"

"You're taking them away entirely? You can't do that!"

"I'm not going to let anyone else see them, Donny."

"That's not the point, Doc! I don't understand why you feel the need to do this."

"Who's the Crew Chief?"

Don refused to answer him.

"C'mon, Don. Who do you trust with your lives?"

"You, but—"

"Then trust me with this. I'll take good care of the samples. I'm just going to perform some preliminary analysis, and then confer with you from there."

"I don't like it, Doc. Why can't we do it here? You're acting as if you don't want me to see them at all."

Luke refused to reiterate what he'd already repeated. "I'll be in touch."

Donny huffed under his breath with frustration. "This isn't fair."

"I'm not trying to be fair," he said honestly. Luke looked at his watch. "Regular business hours will be over soon, and I'll go in. I may be able to tell you something before the night is over."

"Doc! We have equipment HERE. Why do you want to drag the samples somewhere else?"

Luke put a hand on the turtle's shoulder and looked him directly in the eye. "There are some things you shouldn't have to do. Your responsibility is to your Sensei. Keep an eye on his recovery and make sure he comes around well from sedation. I want you to focus on him, and let me focus on this. We'll come back together very soon."

"It doesn't sound like you're giving me a choice. Are you leaving then?"

"In a few minutes."

"I want you to call me tonight."

"I can't guarantee I'll have results, Don. I don't know if there's anything to find."

"If you don't call me, I'll be calling you. Repeatedly."

"How will I get anything done if you're blowing up my phone?"

"You could start by staying here."

"My mind's made up, Donny."

"Then you'd better be in contact, Doc, because I know how to find you."