A/N: Thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me. And thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: see chapter one
Donatello looked down at his comatose, red masked brother. He sighed sadly as he thought back on the long and difficult surgery Raphael had endured. It had taken a little over six hours and during that time, he and Leonardo had set Raphael's broken arm and operated to set his broken knee. Raphael's knee alone was cause for great concern. Whatever had happened, it nearly shattered his kneecap to the point of Donatello wondering if it should be replaced altogether. However, Donatello had been able to set the bone back in place as best as he could and silently prayed that Raphael wouldn't be crippled and unable to walk or fight because of his extensive injuries.
Then, there had been the glass that had embedded itself in Raphael's chest when the chamber had exploded. Donatello had given Leonardo a good scolding about that. He told his brother that he had been lucky no one had been killed because of his haste to save Raphael.
With careful precision, Donatello had removed the shard of glass and had managed to stop the heavy internal bleeding before stitching up the wound both inside and out. The shard had punctured Raphael's left lung and had just barely missed piercing his brother's heart as well as several major veins. An inch or two further to the left and Donatello would have been prepping his brother for burial instead of recovery.
Taking great care not to damage Raphael's lung any further, Donatello and Leonardo stitched up the delicate flesh with dissolving stiches before stitching the rest of the wound closed. After that, it had been the simple task of gently wrapping up the rest of Raphael's wounds and putting his arm and leg in a cast. After this was accomplished Donatello placed Raphael on a ventilator to help support Raphael's breathing and give his lung time to heal.
And now here he stood; clean of his brother's crimson blood, but never fully escaping the feel of having it on his hands. Donatello sighed again and gently placed a hand over Raphael's right shoulder. Another brand to add the first one etched into his skin. The purple masked turtle wondered what mind-set Raphael would be in when he woke up...that's if he woke up. In all honesty, Raphael shouldn't have been alive. His injuries were so great it was a miracle he had still been breathing when Leonardo carried him into the lair. Donatello was too scared to tell the others that Raphael might not recover this time, and worst of all, he didn't know how he was going to tell Michelangelo. Leonardo would probably take the news better, it would still be hard for him to accept, but Michelangelo had always looked up to Raphael as his hero.
"I'm so sorry, Raph," Donatello whispered miserably.
His brother offered no comfort for Donatello's grief; only silence. Donatello lowered his head and closed his eyes as tears of sorrow stung them. His breath hitched and the tears overflowed and spilled down his cheeks. He took in a calming breath and opened his eyes to look at Raphael's battered and bruised face. It broke Donatello's heart to see his hot-headed brother in such a vulnerable state. The purple masked turtle gently ran the side of his index finger over Raphael's pale green cheek. He had hoped to get a response out of his brother, but Raphael remained unresponsive.
"Please come back to us, Raph," Donatello whispered softly. "I don't think we'd know how to live on without you. Especially Mikey. Him and Leo are doing good now, their wounds weren't too serious." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "You probably felt awful after what happened, and we just made it worse by not coming after you when you ran off. I'm truly sorry for that, Raph. No one deserves what Travis did, most of all you. You were just trying to do the right thing by helping those missing girls. If it makes you feel any better, me and Leo are looking for Travis. Leo keeps saying he's going to kill Travis when he gets his hands on him, but I said that you wouldn't want him to get his hands sullied and that we'll let the proper authorities handle Travis. But, whether it be by our hands or human hands, Travis will face justice for what he did, that I promise you."
Leonardo flipped through Travis's journal. Before he left the man's house, he had taken the journal with him; however he had made sure to keep it out of his brothers' sight. Donatello and Michelangelo didn't need to know the full details of how Raphael was injured and tortured. So, Leonardo only took the journal out when he was in the privacy of his bedroom.
The blue masked turtle turned to the last half of the journal. It contained the details of the outcome of the torture sessions. As sick as it made Leonardo feel, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride at Raphael's strong spirit. He had been defiant to the very end. Leonardo closed the journal and sighed in frustration. He had hoped the journal would contain information about a place that Travis would go in the case of an emergency. Sadly, all the journal offered him was grotesque means of breaking people, or killing them; whichever came first.
Leonardo was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the elevator doors open and close. It was followed by the sound of familiar voices. Leonardo hid the journal away in his desk and went to see his friends. April and Casey were talking to Donatello and Michelangelo. As he walked closer, Leonardo could see that Casey had a couple of tapes in his hand.
"Movie night?" the turtle in blue asked, motioning towards the tapes in Casey's hand.
"Hockey night," Casey replied. "It's the playoffs and I recorded some games that Raph would like to watch."
Leonardo was about to point out that Raphael was currently in a coma and wouldn't be able to "watch" anything, but a stern look from Donatello silenced him. Michelangelo led Casey towards the infirmary.
"I set up a TV in the infirmary so that Raph can hear the games," the youngest turtle explained gleefully.
Leonardo watched his brother and Casey disappear into the infirmary. "They know Raph can't watch anything, right?" he whispered.
"They're just trying to keep Raph's mind active," April told him. "It won't hurt to try to wake him up."
"Besides, we did practically the same thing for you after you were ambushed by Shredder and the Foot," Donatello pointed out.
Leonardo shuddered at the memory. "Don't remind me," he said bitterly.
Soon, the sounds of a hockey game could be heard coming from the infirmary, which was quickly followed by shouts and cheers from Michelangelo and Casey. Donatello turned to April.
"While Mikey and Casey have Raph entertained with the hockey game, I need your help with something," the purple masked turtle said.
"Sure, no problem," April replied.
"What are you working on?" Leonardo asked.
Donatello looked at his brother. "I'm backing up Alfredson's computer and sending everything he's got on Travis to the police," he explained. "The more they know about him the better."
A strange look washed over Leonardo's face and Donatello instantly became uneasy. He faced his brother fully and placed a hand on Leonardo's shoulder.
"Leo, Raph wouldn't want us to go down that road," Donatello said.
"What road is that?" Leonardo asked sharply.
"Revenge," Donatello stated simply. "I promised Raph that Travis would be brought to justice, but in the right way."
Leonardo slapped his brother's hand away. "Travis needs to pay for what he did," he growled venomously.
"And he will," Donatello promised. At the dark look in his brother's eyes he added, "Leo, we've been down this road before. Anger and revenge isn't going to help. If anything, it'll only make things worse."
"Don's right, Leo," April said softly. "Raph wouldn't want any of you to get your hands dirty."
"He did it for us," Leonardo pointed out. "He took justice into his own hands."
"Yes, and look where that got him," Donatello replied quietly. "An eye for an eye makes the world blind. We'll let the authorities handle Travis and whoever else was responsible."
Leonardo sighed and the anger left his face. He looked down at the ground, ashamed for his actions. "Sorry, Donnie," he apologized sincerely.
Donatello smiled. "Don't be. I had this same discussion with myself while operating on Raph. We've all been there, Leo. But like April said, Raph wouldn't want us to get our hands dirty and make things worse."
"Yeah," Leonardo agreed. "I'm just tired of this Grim Reaper circle."
"Aren't we all," Donatello replied with a sigh. He turned back to April. "Come on, let's get started. The sooner we send off those files, the sooner the police can start their manhunt."
Leonardo stayed where he was as his brother and April walked off towards Donatello's lab. After a while, Leonardo headed back up to his room and went over to his desk. He opened the top drawer and pulled out the journal. He flipped to the back of the book and removed the picture of Raphael. After hiding the picture away, Leonardo made his way back downstairs and into Donatello's lab. Donatello and April looked up from the computer when Leonardo entered the lab. Donatello noticed the leather bound book in his brother's hands.
"What's that?" Donatello asked, pointing to the journal.
Leonardo looked down at the book in his hands before holding it out for Donatello to take. The purple masked turtle took the book from his brother and began flipping through the pages. His eyes grew wide when he figured out what it was.
"Leo," he breathed. "This is-"
"Let's nail this creep," Leonardo said.
Donatello looked up at his brother and he could see determination shining in Leonardo's eyes.
"Let's teach this guy what happens when you mess with our family," Leonardo vowed darkly.
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