*This is the final chapter of Bonds, and I can't say that it ends on a happy note. If you're familiar with my series, then you already know what happens next. If you haven't read any of my other fics, then you're in luck. My story "Sacrifice" picks up seven weeks after Bonds. The fic is complete, but be forewarned - Sacrifice is one of my early works from about four years ago...and the "quality" reflects that fact.
Thank you for reading, reviewing, and taking this journey with me, friends. There were some difficult moments, but this fic begged to be written. This last chapter is a double whammy, and I feel bad for it...but I can't change the future, because I already wrote it. So...um...yeah. That's it.
Donatello paced. In the last two hours, he felt like he'd worn a permanent impression in the rug that covered the concrete floor of his lab. Two hours in which he'd been waiting for Doc to answer his last text. The purple-masked turtle had tried going to bed, but sleep wouldn't come. After listening to his younger brother's light snoring long enough to be sure that he was deeply asleep, he snuck out of the bedroom.
Donny was sorely tempted to go to Luke's apartment. Tracking the man's location through his cell phone revealed that he'd gone home, and it'd be easy to catch up with him there. Yet Leonardo's instructions to him earlier that evening made him hesitate to leave the den. He wasn't even supposed to be awake, let alone traversing the streets alone.
But I could take the Battleshell. It wouldn't be like I was out hopping roofs by myself. The hopeful thought was squashed in a flash. Leonardo would figure it out. His older brother would somehow know what he'd done, and there would be punishment. Donny looked at his watch, squinting at the small numbers.
It's after 2AM. Is Doc still awake? Does he know something and he's just hiding it from me? Don fingered his phone, mind suddenly made up regardless of the consequences. He opened a text field and tapped a quick message.
If you're still awake, you'd better stop ignoring my calls. I'm about to come to the surface and find you myself. I'll go crazy down here, Doc.
Donatello set the phone down on his desk and waited. I know you're up, Doc. I've got that feeling. So help me, if you don't say something I will come after you. I don't care what Leo does to me. It won't be as bad as sitting around here. He stared at his cell, willing the device to ring.
All of his breath rushed out in a giant whoosh when his ringtone went off, and he scooped up the phone without hesitation. "Doc? Hello?"
"Yes. It's me." The greeting was emotionless, but the man's brevity didn't sit well with the turtle.
"What's going on? Do you know something? Why haven't you called me?"
"Slowly, Donny. I'm coming down there in a few hours, and I can explain everything I know then."
"No!" he proclaimed fiercely. "You can explain now, or I'm coming to beat down your door!"
"Don't make this harder on me than it already is." Luke's voice got softer.
Donny clenched his phone tightly. "I can't wait, Doc. I'm sorry. You have to tell me."
The man was quiet for a long moment, but the turtle could hear his breathing quicken.
"Are you sitting down?"
Don dropped into a desk chair and the hand grasping his phone shook. "I am. What did you find?"
"I found tissue damage, and evidence of scarring on the surface of his lungs. When I delved deeper into the samples, I realized the…um, his alveoli are being affected."
"Affected how?" Donatello recognized the importance of the lung's air sacs well, and Luke's hesitation to elaborate made panic seize in his gut.
"They're being destroyed. Four out of six samples confirm the destruction taking place of the surface walls in the air sacs. I can't tell you why it's happening, but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that it's the source of Master Splinter's breathing problems. His ability to exchange oxygen with carbon dioxide is being hindered. This is the root, Donny. Whatever is causing the damage, it's responsible for him being sick."
A chill washed over the turtle so hard that he shivered. "What do you think could be causing it?"
"I don't know. This type of condition isn't my area of expertise. I don't want to put Splinter through undue stress, but we need to have another look at his lungs. Finding the problem is only part of the battle. Now we have to discover why it's going wrong in the first place." Luke's voice wavered.
Donny blinked back fearful tears that tried to surface. "This is really serious."
"Yes, it is. I wanted to be able to tell you more, but there isn't anything else. Not yet."
Donatello steadied his breathing with difficulty. "Y-you're coming in the morning?"
"Yes, Don. Don't try to talk to anyone about this without me, okay? We're in this together. This doesn't mean it's over."
"No," he said faintly.
"Are you okay?"
The turtle wasn't sure how to answer. "I don't know what I am."
"Donny, I'm sorry."
Don bent over the desk, lowering the phone briefly so Luke wouldn't hear him sniff. "It's not your fault, Doc."
"I didn't want to tell you like this."
"I didn't give you a choice."
"I can come down now."
"No, don't do that. Then nobody will get any sleep."
"Will you promise me you'll try?"
"Yeah, Doc," he replied without feeling.
"Okay. Then I'll be down there by 8AM, and I'll bring my findings for us to go through."
"All right, Doc. Try to get some rest too."
"Bye."
Donny dropped the phone on the desk, leaning harder on the top for support. His forehead grazed the surface of the keyboard while he tried to settle down his heart rate. We don't know anything for sure yet, he thought feebly. Except than an important component of his lungs which is vital for life is failing, and we don't have a clue why.
Dread was creeping up on him, no matter how hard he wanted to fight it. They were far behind whatever ailment was affecting Splinter; it had ravaged his lungs for months while they'd been unaware. The sudden tidal wave of fear and grief combined to shatter what remained of his hope and tears surfaced.
Sleep was out of the question, but he didn't feel capable of sitting there alone for several hours either. He looked at his phone. I'm going to have to come clean with Jen sooner or later. The idea of calling her was spontaneous, but he liked it more than the thought of dragging his brothers out of bed.
The twelve-hour time difference made it afternoon in Sydney, and likely a good chance to catch the young woman for an extended period. He didn't think as he dialed her number, afraid that he might try to talk himself out of it. The phone rang two, three, then four times, and he almost hung up. On the fifth ring however, he heard a sound on the line.
"Donny?" Jenna's voice was high and tight.
Apprehension stirred within him. "Jen? Are you okay?"
The young woman made no attempt to answer him.
"Jenna?"
Donatello heard muffled sobbing this time, and his anxiety shot through the roof. "Jenna, what's wrong? Are you in trouble?"
The consistency of her cries made it sound like the young woman couldn't catch her breath. The thought of her hyperventilating made Donny take on a more soothing tone.
"Listen to my voice. Breathe with me, Jen, and try to calm down, okay?"
She didn't seem capable of following his instructions. "Donny, he's gone!" The words escaped her under extreme duress.
"Who's gone?"
It took a few more seconds to get coherent speech from her. "She shot him! She ki-killed him!"
"Who?"
"The trial!" Her voice rose with intensity. "My dad! He's gone, he's gone, he's gone!"
Donatello felt like he'd been shot. He was paralyzed for a few moments, and could do nothing more than listen to the woman he loved sob desperately into the receiver.
"Jen," he finally said hoarsely, tears flooding his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
"I don't know where my mom is!" she gasped. "Victoria was there to meet him outside; she saw the whole thing! The police have her somewhere else. They won't take me to her. They won't let me out of this room!"
The purple-masked turtle's mind raced for words. "They're keeping her safe, Jen – they must be! They're probably trying to keep you safe too."
His fingers suddenly came to life, jumping on a search engine to find the details that Jenna was too distraught to communicate. Don looked up the website of one of Australia's major news networks and scrolled down the page to see if he could find anything on Jenna's adoptive father.
It took seconds to locate the story on the shooting of the American Diplomat, and he swallowed as he clicked on the link. Failed Appeal ended courtroom battle…convicted terrorists to remain in Prison…one loyalist to their cause retaliated…Donatello turned away from the computer as he had a strong urge to throw up.
"I want my mom!" Jenna whimpered. "I need to see her, Donny, and she needs me!"
"Jenna, she's going to be okay. You're going to get to her." He felt impotent as he uttered the words."Is there anyone nearby? Can you reach out to someone with questions about your mom?"
"I already sent someone away. I told them not to come back until they had information for me." Jenna took a couple of shuddering breaths. "Oh, Donny, I need you."
He bit his lip so hard that he was sure he'd broken skin. "I'm sorry, Jen." There was literally nothing else he could think of to say.
The door to the lab swung open at that moment, and his disapproving oldest brother cleared his throat. "Don, I could have sworn you agreed to get some sleep tonight."
There was no time to contain his tears before he had to face the blue-masked turtle.
"Bro, what's wrong?"
Donny pointed to his cell phone, pushed away from the desk, and motioned to the computer screen.
His brother came to look at the story over his shoulder and a mighty gasp left him. "No!"
Don nodded painfully while Leo covered his mouth with one hand.
"Oh my God…" Leo's words were hardly audible, and then tears came to his eyes too.
"Donny, there's someone at the door," Jenna said suddenly.
Donatello drew a deep breath. "If you're sure it's safe, answer it."
The young woman was gone for about a minute before returning to the line. "They're going to take me to her!"
"Good. Make sure you stay with the police, Jen! Don't get separated from them for any reason."
"Uh huh." Her agreement was shaky.
"I love you. Get to your mom and call me when you can."
"Donny, I love you."
"Go. Whenever you need me, I'm here."
"Okay, I'm going," she whispered.
Don hung up the phone in slow motion. He felt so overwhelmed that he slumped forward, bracing his hands on his knees to keep his balance.
Leo's arms instantly went around him. "I'm sorry, Don. I can't imagine what this is like for her, or being separated from Jen at a time like this."
"It's madness," Don mumbled. "There's nothing else to call it. I…I didn't know what to say to her! There's no way to make her feel better. There's absolutely nothing I can do!"
His brother didn't let go of him. "Just hearing your voice helped her, Don, I'm sure of it."
"I don't think so." Donny choked on a sob.
Leonardo held him at arm's length so he could look in his eyes. "You don't need to have all the answers. You were there for her, and we'll be here for you. No one is going through this alone."
The purple-masked turtle pulled gently away from him, hiding behind his hands. Doc's words were ringing in his ears, but too much had happened in the last half an hour, and he was at a breaking point.
"Leo, it's not just Jen's dad."
"What are you saying?"
"That's not why I was awake. I finally forced Doc to talk to me."
The blue-masked turtle stiffened. "Does he know something about Sensei?"
Don nodded, and his head felt as heavy as stone.
"What did he say?"
"There's something wrong with Sensei's lungs. The air sacs are being destroyed…and Doc doesn't know why."
His oldest brother immediately paled. "What does that mean for Master Splinter? What happens next?"
"More testing…more searching," Donny said somberly.
"Is he dying? Tell me the truth."
Donatello couldn't say anything else. He only cried.