A/N: Thanks so much for the great reviews!
4 Hours till landfall
Donnie curled Sarah's unconscious form against him as hail began to hit them. The brothers took refuge beneath the awning of an outdoor café. They had only made it about half way to the garage.
"Oh, great! What else can happen?" Raph groused.
"Stop complaining, Raph. You're not helping things." Leo was just as frustrated.
"Hail storms before a hurricane don't usually last very long. Maybe we can just wait it out here for a while." Donnie suggested as he knelt down with Sarah in his arms. Raph and Leo started to argue if they should try to make it back to the garage or just wait.
Mikey knelt down beside Donnie. "How is she?"
Donnie shook his head. "She's got a concussion and I'm pretty sure two broken ribs." He stroked her cheek. "Come on, love, you have to wake up. We need you. Mira needs you. I need you. Please wake up." But she didn't. He could sense something stirring at the edge of their bond, a slight awareness but that was all. You can do it, my love! Come back to me!
"Okay," Leo was saying with exasperation. "You're right. We need to get Sarah back to the garage. But how do you suggest we do that?" The sewers were flooded and the streets were getting that way quickly, and the hail prevented them from using the rooftops.
"I have an idea." Mikey pointed at the huge umbrellas that covered the café's tables. "We could use those."
The large umbrellas had been folded up and tied, but left inside the tables because they were bolted to the ground. The owner had seemingly thought they'd stay that way despite one hundred mile an hour winds.
Raph snorted. "Actually that's not a half bad idea." He, Leo and Mikey immediately started trying to pull them loose. They removed two umbrellas. The wind was not blowing too hard just yet, so they would provide at least some shelter from the balls of ice. Mikey shared one with Leo, while Raph and Donnie took the other one.
As they walked, Raph reached over and touched Sarah's hand where it rested on her stomach. He exchanged a look with his brother. "She'll be okay, Donnie. She's strong."
Donnie swallowed hard. "I know, but I can't help but worry."
Raph could tell there was more to the pained look on his brother's face. "There's somethin' else botherin' you, bro."
Donnie looked away, fighting the guilt that swelled in his heart. "I left them, Raph. What on God's green earth possessed me to leave them?" He looked down at the limp form of his mate. "She's like this because of me. And Mira…what if…"
"Don't say it, bro. Don't even think it. We'll find her and Master Splinter." Raph adjusted his hold on the umbrella. "And, Donnie, despite all those big brains of yours, you can't be expected to think of everything. Sarah knows that."
Donnie nodded. Though the feeling of guilt still twisted his guts, it had lessened ever so slightly. "Thanks, Raph."
3 Hours till landfall
Cat sat on top of one of the work benches frowning at the water that was now filling the garage. It was at least two feet deep. Worry racked her heart and mind. The guys had been gone way too long now. She wondered if something had happened to them. She fought the tears that wanted to overwhelm her. I've already lost so much. I can't lose him too!
A voice came to her over the sound of hail hitting the metal roof. "Cat! Cat are you in there?"
Cat jumped to her feet atop the bench. "Raph!"
He and Mikey appeared at the wall of sandbags. Relief washed over her husband's face as they jumped in and waded to her side. She jumped down into the water and Raph grasped her tightly in his arms. Cat couldn't fight the tears anymore as she clung to him. "I was so worried about you."
"It's alright." He murmured in her ear. "I've got you now, darlin'."
"Where did you put the bag with the medical supplies?" Mikey asked.
Cat pointed at the work bench across from them. "I put everything up as high as I could." That's when she noticed the absence of the other brothers. "Where is everyone else?"
"Leo and Donnie are waiting up the street a ways. We didn't think it'd be a good idea to bring Sarah down here. The current is really strong." Raph explained.
Cat saw the sadness in his eyes. "What is it? What's happened?"
"She's hurt pretty bad."
Cat gasped. "What about Mira and Splinter?"
"We don't know where they are." Mikey waded back to them with the duffle bag on his shoulder so it wouldn't get wet.
"Try to keep that stuff dry, Mikey. Donnie'll need it." Raph turned as if to leave. "Come on we can't stay here."
Cat pulled on his hand to stop him. "What about the Elderberries?"
Raph frowned. "We can't take the plant, there's no way it'd make it through that current out there. But maybe we could just take the berries. That's all we need." He looked around for something to put them in. He found a small plastic box which held large nuts and bolts. He dumped it out and handed it to Cat. "Hold this." Then he pulled the small bundles of berries from the bush. Putting them inside, he snapped the lid closed and tucked it into the duffle bag.
"Great, now all we need to do is find Mira so we can give them to her. And we have to find another place to wait out the storm since both our pads are flooded. Then we have to fix up Sarah." Mikey was doubtful that they'd be able to accomplish any of those things at the moment.
"April called a while ago. She said she was staying and that we could go to her place." Cat provided as an answer to part of the problem.
Mikey lightened. "Awesome call! What are we waiting for?" He headed for the wall of sandbags. Raph and Cat followed, pulling the door closed behind them. The hail had stopped, but it was raining again. As they all reached sandbags, Mikey spotted something. "Hey, Raph, check it out!"
"The sewer slider!" Raph was astonished to see their vehicle riding the current in their direction. "We'll have to make a jump for it." He picked Cat up in his arms and they waded out to the street. Climbing atop a car, he looked down at his spouse. "We'll only have one shot at this, so hold on." His wife complied, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Raph and Mikey jumped for the slider at the same time. But as luck would have it, the slider hit a parked car and jerked just out of range at the last moment. Mikey was slightly closer and was able to grab the side of it with his free hand. He tossed the duffle bag inside and turned his attention to his brother.
Raph clutched Cat to his chest with desperation as he fought the current with his other arm. If she were swept away like Sarah had been, they might never find her. "Raph, grab the rope!" Mikey's grappler landed in the water no more than a few inches away. Raph grabbed it and allowed his brother to pull them to safety. Mikey had climbed aboard the slider and quickly pulled Raph and Cat aboard with him.
Raph took deep breaths while Cat coughed up water. "Thanks, bro."
Once they were safe Mikey sat in the driver's seat and started the engines. He struggled to stir the machine through the river of cars and debris to the place they'd left Donnie and Leo. At last he spotted them standing atop a car. Mikey had to put the slider in reverse to hold position enough for them to jump aboard.
"The slider, at least that's one piece of good luck." Leo sat beside Mikey in the front.
In the back seat, Cat was nearly frantic at the sight of Sarah. Donnie tried his best to calm her, but she started sobbing anyway. He turned his attention to his younger brother when he noticed him pick a distinct direction. "Where are we going, Mikey?"
"To April's."
"She's still in the city?" Leo asked surprised.
Mikey couldn't help the small laugh. "Probably couldn't stop filming until it was too late to evacuate."
A/N: I know this chap was a little shorter than usual but I couldn't find a better breaking point. I'll try to update soon. Don't forget to review, pretty pretty please!