Sorry for the delay. It was kinda busy around here. Hope you enjoy!

Operation: Soup

It was a very quiet evening in the lair and Raph enjoyed it to the fullest. With his youngest annoying brother and his oldest know-it-all brother out he had the time of his life. He grabbed the remote, took the last sip of his soda and zapped to another channel, which happen to be a cooking show. At that moment he realised how hungry he actually was. He thought for a bit and decided it was worth it to get up and go to the kitchen. Once there he opened a few cabinets and scanned the various items, which all needed multiple steps to prepare. He growled and slammed the cabinet shut, knowing he was a terrible cook. The last time he tried to prepare something, the eggs were unrecognisable and the kitchen smelled of burned sugar for over two weeks. Like he should know the difference between salt and sugar; it's both white! And heck does he knows the stuff gets flammable if you turn the heat up to the highest level. Let's just say it wasn't his best work. Ever since he stayed out of the kitchen and just ate the stuff Mike put on his plate.

He sighed and spun around. "This sucks," he muttered, not wanting to admit he needed his youngest brother for something other than a smack on the head. He looked at the shelves on the other side of the kitchen and noticed a can of soup. "Hmm." He took it off the shelf and read the instructions. "Jus' heatin' it up, huh?" He tossed the can in the air. "How hard can that be?" he said as he caught it again and turned it over, examining it. "That's odd," he mumbled as he looked at the bottom. He flipped the can again and inspected the top. A little confused he tapped it with his finger. "How the heck you open this thing?"

Don hummed as he wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead. It was hot in the garage and him welding didn't make it any better, but the work on the Battle Shell had to be done. So he grabbed another piece of metal and put it in place, welding it shut. He inspected his work and hoped the suspension of the Battle Shell would hold out this time. "I really should talk with Raph about his driving style," he mumbled and shut down his welding tool, putting it down on the floor. At that moment he heard a annoyed groan and the shuffling of feet coming to the garage. Don smiled. "Talk about the devil," he said as he turned to the door, precisely when Raph appeared, a bloody hand clutched in a other one. A moment everything was quiet.

"Raph! What the hell!" Don managed to cry out and he rushed to his brother. He carefully grabbed Raph's hand and looked where the blood was coming from. "What happened?" he asked, while he wiped away some blood with a semi-clean towel he found on one of the toolboxes. When Raph didn't respond, Don looked up and saw the downcast glare, which he could only describe as embarrassment. "Raph, what happened?" he asked again, this time with more force. Raph grumbled, but didn't say anything. Don sighed. "Raph, I need to know what happened before I can do anything for you. So I'll ask again: what happened?"

"Jus' stitch it, Donnie," came the barely audible reply.

"Oh, so you can talk," Don answered. "And no, I can't just stitch it, because I need to know what happened in case you need shots to prevent infection or diseases."

Raph's eyes shot up and he glared at Don, who gave a waiting frown. Suddenly Raph jerked his hand away and sat down on one of the toolboxes. "Fine!" he called out angrily, giving in. "I tried to cook, alright! Yeah, tha guy who always let someone cook for 'im, tried to cook 'imself. An' see what happened!" He brought his hand op as he ended his tirade. Don blinked a couple of times, taken aback by his brother's ranting, then he smiled slightly. "Alright, and what happened exactly?" he asked gently. Raph turned away his eyes again. "I tried to make soup."

"Soup..." Don repeated with a blank stare. He looked at Raph's hand again, seeing the once white towel. "Care to elaborate?"

"I couldn't open the can," Raph mumbled. Don sighed and brought his hand up to his head and started massaging the area between his eyes. "Please don't tell me you used a knife instead of the can opener..."

Raph's head whipped up again, surprised. "We have a can opener?"

Don lowered his hand and stared at his brother in disbelief. "Off course we have a can opener, Raph!"

"Since when?"

"Oh, I don't know… Since forever maybe?"

Raph's surprised look quickly took place for anger and he got up. "Screw this!" He swung his good hand out and flipped over a metal plate with tools.

"Calm down, Raph." Don took his brother's arm and made him sit down again, ignoring the fallen tools. "What kind of knife did you use?" he asked further while he took the towel off the wound. He saw it was a nice, clean cut and it wouldn't be a problem to stitch it decently. He used both hands and widened the wound a bit to look for nerve damage and stopped when he heard Raph grunt.

"Sorry, bro. I just need to check it out."

"It's ok."

Don continued examining the wound, wiping blood away from time to time. After a minute he looked at Raph and smiled. "You'll live."

"Hurray," came the dry reply. He stood up when Don motioned him to do so and he walked after him to the infirmary.

"I just can't see what kind of knife you used. The knives we have are too slim for this kind of wound. I'm -"

"I didn't use a knife," Raph cut him off. Don turned his head. "But how did you -"

"I used my sai."

Don's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something. A moment later he closed it again. He thought for a bit. "That's kinda stupid," was his final conclusion. Raph barked out a laugh. "No shit, Sherlock," he said as he sat down on one of the cots in the infirmary.

"Then we agree on that," Don smiled and he walked to one of the closets. He rummaged a bit and came back with some medical equipment. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson."

"Yeah, don't cook ever again."

"Or open a drawer every once in a while."

Raph snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Or don't use a semi-blunt martial arts weapon as a kitchen utensil."

"Got it, Don," Raph growled. He shifted on the cot at the sight of the syringe with anesthesia Don had just finished filling. Don's eyes darted to the wound and looked for a place to put the needle in. "Or use your head more often than your muscles."

"For crying out loud! One more remark and I let myself bleed to death. You can be just as annoying as Mikey sometimes!"

Don laughed and retreated the now empty syringe. "In this case I take it as a compliment." He put the syringe away and grabbed the stitching utensils. "Now be a good turtle and sit still," he said as he pierced the skin, failing to see the amused smile on his brother.

I really hope you liked it. Reviews are very welcome!