This is a very short chapter, for which I am sorry. I have fought and fought with this chapter trying to get it written, and this is the best my muse could come up with. She is being quite stubborn at the moment (channeling Raphael, I suspect). Anyway, not much really happens, but hopefully I can get the next chapter more quickly. Oh, and please excuse the medical inaccuracies. As always, I'm taking a few liberties for the sake of the story.

When Raphael awoke the next morning, it was with a bit of surprise; he hadn't expected to fall asleep at all, given whose "hospitality" he and his brothers were now enjoying. He chalked his unexpected relaxation up to Usagi. The young warrior had promised to keep watch over Leo while the older turtle was in surgery, and to come for them if anything changed. Raphael couldn't explain it, but he'd known they could trust Usagi. He'd learned long ago to trust his instincts, which is why, when he got his second shock of the morning and his gut told him something seriously wrong was going on, he didn't doubt it, even if the "wrong-ness vibe" was coming from his own father.

This second shock came as Raphael was climbing out of bed. After coming fully awake, Raphael took a few minutes to reorient himself in his unfamiliar surroundings. Once he'd identified the admittedly comfortable bed as the one he'd settled on the night before in Bishop's guest room, Raphael turned his attention to the rest of the room. To his left was the second bed where he could hear his brother's still snoring softly. He could tell by the odd, fluttery sounds Donatello was making that the younger turtle was beginning to wake up, but he still had a little while before his brother was fully awake. Deciding to take advantage of being the first one awake, Raphael rolled out of bed to head to the bathroom. What he wasn't expecting was to almost land on his father, who was sitting silently between the two beds, obviously deep in his morning meditation.

Raphael was startled by his father's unanticipated presence, but something else about seeing his father sitting there left him feeling more than a little unsettled. Sure, he vaguely remembered Bishop saying something about alerting their sensei as to what was going on, but to have his father actually sitting there so calmly, well, it just felt off. Taking a mental step back, Raphael attempted to work out just what about his father's presence had him so unsettled. Part of it, he acknowledged, was due to the disagreement that had taken place the night before, followed by Donatello's startling revelation, and then Leo's, or rather Shadowblade's, battle with those alien hunters. Sure, Splinter hadn't been there to see it, but surely the injury of one of his sons, even one he hadn't seen for over ten years, would have elicited more of response than this?

You're making too much of this, Raphael told himself. We all know Master Splinter uses meditation to help himself relax during stressful situations; it's just what he does. After all, this isn't the first time we've been the 'guests' of a potentially hostile host.

That's when Raphael realized just what about his father's behavior disturbed him; the rat was too calm, too at ease. Splinter might use mediation to calm his mind, but his body was always alert. Whether it was a twitching ear or a tense tail, there was always physiological sign that his father was poised to move at a moment's notice. Right now, though, his father was too tranquil, and Raphael didn't like it one bit. His gut was screaming that everything about this whole situation was seriously wrong. They were in the heart of their enemy's stronghold, one of their own was grievously hurt, and Splinter was deep enough in his meditation that he didn't even notice his second oldest almost fall on top of him. Oh, yeah, there was something wrong with this picture all right.

Forcing his thoughts back for later consideration, Raphael continued on to the bathroom. Once his brother were up and mobile, they'd go hunt down Usagi; maybe then they'd start getting some answers to the riddles that had suddenly inundated their lives.

TMNT

By the time Raphael emerged from the bathroom, his brothers had likewise crawled out of bed, and Splinter had emerged from his meditation. Even through the bathroom door Raphael could hear the soft murmur of voices as his brothers greeted their father. Raphael didn't have to hear the particulars to know his brothers were as off-put by their father's presence as he'd been. Given then they now suspected about their father, it was no wonder his brothers were treating their father like he was some sort of stranger; after the night before, he was one. Once more pushing those thoughts from his mind, Raphael opened the bathroom and was greeted by the smell of breakfast. Grinning, Raphael stepped out to greet the rabbit warrior who was waiting with the rest of his family.

"Good morning," Raphael said as his brothers looked up at his entrance. "Everyone sleep well last night?" After getting everyone's concurrence that they had indeed passed the night comfortably, Raphael turned to Usagi and asked the question he most wanted an answer to. "What about Leo? Is he…?"

"I have good news and bad news, my friends," Usagi said. "Your brother is alive, and the doctors were able to repair the internal damage, but that is as good as it gets. The bad news is there was a lot of damage. I don't know if you are aware of this, but the liver bleeds quite fiercely when hit, and your brother took quite the strike last night. On top of that, his left lung was pierced, and collapsed. All this would lead to severe consequences by themselves, but your brother does not do anything by halves. He would have been in trouble simply with the collapsed lung, but that was compounded by the fact that the liver wound was gushing blood into the thoracic cavity. The extra pressure on his good lung made it difficult for him to pull in enough oxygen, and the doctors…"

"They're worried about brain damage," Donatello finished for him.

"That is only the start," Usagi said. "It turns out the blade that hunter used on your brother was poisoned. Thanks to Bishop, we are able to counter the toxin, but it is going to take some time. In the meantime, the doctors have placed your brother into a medically induced coma. He is also on full life support. They want to give him the best chance to pull through, and they feel this is it."

"What are his chances," Raphael asked quietly.

"Depends on who you ask," Usagi replied. "The doctors only give him a 20% chance."

"You don't agree," Raphael said with certainty. "You think his chances are better than that."

"The doctors do not know Leonardo the way we do," Usagi confirmed. "He is too strong a warrior."

"Not to mention flat out too stubborn," Raphael said. "If he could survive what those Chi'Tarri bastards did to him, his can get through this."

"Indeed," Usagi agreed. "But explain this to me Raphael, my friend. Why did you not ask your father for this information? He spoke directly to Bishop this morning before coming here. I rather gathered from their discussion the two of them were, at the very least, old acquaintances. He could have given you this information as easily as I."

All eyes turned to the elderly rat. Raphael's gut clenched when he saw no denial or apology in his father's countenance. Before Raphael could question his father, Michelangelo beat him to it.

"What is he talking about sensei," the youngest turtle asked.

Splinter sighed in resignation. "Take a seat my sons. The young ronin is correct; Bishop and I are old acquaintances. But there is much more to the story, and while I'd hoped to do this on my timing, it would seem it is not to be. So if you will settle in, I will tell the true tale of our history."

So, kinda a cliffhanger, but not really since we've already heard most of this from Bishop. Still, I think we will get some new details from Splinter.