So here is the next chapter. It's a fairly long one to make up for how long it's been since the last chapter. No more Splinter in this story, but I have plans for him. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and keep in mind that I've taken quite a bit of liberty with medical facts. And if you're the easily grossed out by medical stuff, you might want to be aware we talk a little more in detail about Leo's injuries.
For a long while after Splinter's departure the turtles and Usagi sat in bewildered, gloomy silence. Predictably, Raphael was the first to break the silence. With a cry of wordless anger and grief he leapt to his feet and struck out at the nearest stationary target, which in this case happened to be the bathroom door. His hurt and fury was such that he drove his fist through the solid wood, not even mindful of the pain that resulted.
"Raphael," Donatello exclaimed, jumping to his feet and rushing to his brother's side. "Get yourself under control! You aren't going to do Leo any good by hurting yourself. Now, hold still and let me see your hand."
Still fidgeting from the pent-up tension and anger roiling through him, Raphael diffidently allowed his brother to inspect his hand.
"I just can't believe him," Raphael ranted as Donatello examined the damage he'd done to himself. "Year upon year of lies and falsehoods, and we're just supposed to accept it. And then, on top of that, he expects us to turn our backs on Leo, just after getting him back, just to fulfill his crazy desire for revenge."
"I do not mean to intrude on what it obviously a family matter," Usagi said, "and I in no way condone our elder's actions, but I have seen grief cause some very unexpected behaviors, even among the strongest warriors. It's like their grief breaks something inside them and it never quite heals correctly. From what we heard your former sensei, he experienced enough loss to destroy even the most grounded of individuals. To lose not only his family, but essentially his whole purpose in life? I can't begin to understand how that must have felt."
"I think we can all agree Splinter was definitely broken," Michelangelo agreed. "We've known it for a long time; we just didn't recognize it at the time. Right now, though, I'm angry and hurt, once again by Splinter's actions, and while I feel sorry for Splinter, I can't accept what he did. Beyond that, I still have more questions about this whole thing. I mean, did you specifically choose Leo as his sacrificial lamb, or would any of us have been acceptable? And did any of us ever mean anything more to him than just expendable pieces in his plan for vengeance?"
"What I'd like to know," Donatello said as he finally released Raphael's hand, satisfied his older brother had done only surface damage to it, "is just how much of Splinter's story Bishop was truly unaware of before today. And since I'm certain he heard the whole thing via the bugs I know are planted around the room, and since he's most like still listening in now, why doesn't he join us and present his side of things?"
No one was particularly shocked when, moments later, a knock sounded at the door before Bishop let himself in.
"Since I'm sure you have other, more pressing matters you'd rather be dealing with," Bishop said without preamble, "I will be blunt. No, I didn't realize your guardian and former teacher and his allies had deceived me so thoroughly. I genuinely believed he cared for you all as a father should. The Splinter I had known as a youngling would never have treated another living being so callously. I realize now I was too wrapped up in my own loss to realize the damage wrought by Yoshi and Keiko's deaths."
"Just out of curiosity, why didn't you answer their calls for help," Donatello asked. "If you truly cared for them, why didn't go to their aid?"
"I couldn't tell Splinter at the time, but I had gone to rescue my daughter from the Chi'Tarri," Bishop admitted. "I couldn't let her be raised by those monsters, but I wasn't fit to raise her myself. I may not have been as broken as Splinter, but I certainly wasn't whole. I'm still not. Still, I did the best I could to protect her. I had her anonymously turned over to child welfare, though I did use my influence to make sure she was well looked after. So while Splinter was mourning his family, so was I. Unfortunately, your family paid the price for our grief."
"So what happens now," Michelangelo asked. "To Splinter and to us?"
"Splinter will be escorted to the home of his closest ally, the one you call the Ancient One," Bishop said. "I'm not sure how he will react after your…dismissal of him, but I fear it will not be pleasant. For that reason, my people will make sure they keep their distance from you. Splinter needs time to cool off, and your family needs time to process everything that has come to light. Beyond that, I did make a promise to Splinter's clan that I would help them. I intend to keep my promise to help take down Saki. If they find the opening they need, they won't face him alone this time."
"And what about us," Raphael demanded. "What do you plan on doing with us?"
"For the time being, I am going to escort you to your brother's side. He's going to need you as he heals and recovers. At that point, the decision will belong to your family. I won't deny that I could use your help. Your brother is exactly the kind of warrior I was hoping for, to help defeat the Chi'Tarri. He's smart, powerful, and driven by a desire to protect all he loves. You can't instill that; it has to come from within. He would make a fearsome weapon against the Chi'Tarri. However, I am not like them; I am not a slaver. The four of you, and now your new bond-brother, belong to yourselves and each other. I will accept whatever decision you make. Side with me or not, the decision is yours. Now, what do you say we go find Leonardo? I think the lot of you have been apart long enough."
TMNT
The little female entity Bishop introduced the family to was as far away from what they'd imagined Leo's doctor being like as she could be. The communal thought shared by all of them was 'she's too…cute.' That was the only way to describe the young woman. At not even five feet tall, she was shorter than any of the turtles, and over a foot shorter than Usagi, though the size of her personality made her physical size almost unnoticeable. Her size, however, was not the most unusual thing about the petite doctor. No, that honor went to the lady's other physical attributes. To start with, despite her human-like features, the bubble-gum pink color of her skin, coupled with the baby-blue of her feather-like hair made it clear Earth was not part of her ancestry. If that wasn't enough, the pair of translucent wings on her back, a blue several shades darker than her hair, would have confirmed it.
The turtles weren't quite sure what to make of the unusual doctor, when Usagi's unexpectedly turned to Bishop and said, "This is not the doctor I spoke to this morning regarding my bondsman's condition."
The little female doctor smiled ruefully as she said, "No, you spoke to Doctor O'toma. Afterward, it was made clear that he was not…compatible with the patient's family; something about him being too inflexible. But don't worry; I've been involved with your brother's care from the moment he came in. Oh, you can call me Maggie, since my real name is impossible for Terrans to pronounce."
The three turtles and Usagi could only stare at Maggie in goggle-eyed shock. Outside of Michelangelo, they'd never heard anyone say so much without stopping to breathe.
"Um, hi," Donatello finally managed. "I…I'm Donatello, and these are my brothers Raphael and Michelangelo. This is Usagi; he's bound himself to our family through debt to Leonardo."
"I'm so pleased to meet you," the pixie-faced doctor gushed once introductions were completed, her wings fluttering in barely controlled enthusiasm. "I just wish it could have been under better circumstances."
"Us too," Donatello replied. "Now, I know the doctor this morning already filled Usagi in on Leo's condition, but we'd like to hear it firsthand."
"But in English, please," Michelangelo added. "Not all of us speak geek."
Maggie's laughter, light and brief, sounded, quite literally, like the delicate tinkling of a wind chime, and the mere sound relaxed something in the turtles none of them had realized was tense. "I think I can do that," she told him. Let's take a seat here in the waiting room, and I will fill you in." Once everyone was seated, Maggie said, "Let's start with the wound to your brother's liver. By itself that would was fatal since the liver bleeds heavily if lacerated. This led to extensive internal bleeding, which created a secondary problem, as the buildup of blood and fluid in Leonardo's chest cavity began to put pressure on his other organs, preventing them from working properly. Of particular concern were the strain the pressure put on his heart and lung. This leads directly to our third major concern. When Leonardo was stabbed the second time, his lung was penetrated, causing it to collapse. While normally a serious condition in and of itself, the situation was made worse by the internal bleeding, as that made it difficult for your brother's other lung to fully expand, thus limiting the amount of oxygen reaching his brain and other organs. The internal bleeding also made it difficult to get his lung re-inflated was it was repaired. All this combined gives rise to a very real concern that there might be some oxygen-deprivation induced brain damage."
"Usagi also mentioned something about Leonardo being poisoned," Raphael said.
"He was, and unfortunately the toxin on the blades reacts in a very specific manner," Maggie said. "It targets the brain, creating a condition very similar to encephalitis. In non-geek speak, it causes swelling and irritation of the brain. Now, we were able to identify and neutralize the poison quickly, but the effects had already set in."
"Hence the reason for the medically induced coma," Donatello concluded. "Until the swelling goes down, you won't be able to determine how extensive the damage is, and if there were any weak spot created by the oxygen deprivation, the added trauma caused by the poison could make it worse."
"Precisely," Maggie said. "The coma we placed your brother in is intended to allow your brother's brain to rest and repair itself as much as possible."
"I didn't think the brain could repair injuries," Michelangelo said.
"The normal human brain can't," Maggie replied. "It can make new connections and relearn things, but damaged areas can't come back. However, due to the mutation process you four underwent, your brains have a little more ability to repair damage, as long as it is not too extensive."
"So when can we see him," Raphael asked.
"You can all go see him right now," Maggie declared. "I'll be happy to take you to him myself."
"All of us," Donatello asked. "All at once? You aren't going to limit the number of visitors or anything like that?"
"Why would I want to limit the amount of positive energy allowed into your brother's healing room," Maggie asked, genuinely perplexed. "Among my people healing is very much a social action, with family and friends, even children, gathered around to provide support for the sick or injured. I'm certainly not going to deny your brother the presence of his family and bond-brother; that would just be silly and irresponsible of me."
The brothers could hold back their smiles. "What are we waiting for," Michelangelo asked.
So Leo will finally reappear next chapter, though he's in a coma at the moment. We will get to see some interaction between the brothers, even if Leo can't really respond. A little comfort to go with all the hurt that's been taking place.