It was getting colder as the days went by. It was January and a lot of snow fell on the ground.
Now, when the Turtles trained or to do any other activity that was rough, like Raph needing to use his punching bag, they went to the barn. But most days now, they stayed inside and found stuff to do. Don and Leatherhead also worked in the barn as well.
Leo was in his last few weeks now, and he was more restless than ever. He was in the nesting phase and constantly wanted the place kept clean. Aside from just wanting a clean home for the babies, he wanted something to do as he needed to be off his feet as much as possible as well.
Leo would often borrow Don's computer to see how the babies were doing inside him. The babies' main goal right now was to just get big enough to live outside their 'mother's' body. Pretty much all development was complete.
He could feel that they must have been getting as restless as he was. There was limited space in his belly for them and their movements were even more painful now.
Because of the risk of heartburn and his organs being pressed on so much, Leo had to split his meals into several small meals through the day. And he also visited the bathroom multiple times a day. It was just getting old and felt so stupid.
Being ten weeks behind Leo in pregnancy, April was also feeling miserable at times, but she wasn't as big as Leo was either.
While Don and Leatherhead did Leo's exams here at the farmhouse, April and Casey would take their exams to the hospital that was nearest to Northampton. There was just so much excitement going on expecting little bundles of joy very soon.
….
One morning, Leo was out doing a walk around the yard when he slipped on some ice and slammed down onto his shell.
He cried out so loud when the weight of both babies slammed into his internal organs. It felt like he had been kicked in the stomach so hard that it totally knocked the wind out of him.
His father heard him from inside the house while Don and Raph heard from inside the barn. They all rushed outside to see Leo lying on the ground, holding his stomach, eyes closed tightly in pain.
"Leo, what happened?" Raph asked.
"Ice!" Leo screamed. "It… hurts!"
"Let's get you inside, my son." Splinter said.
Don and Raph came forward to help their pregnant brother up. Then Don slipped a little on the ice that Leo had stepped on and knew what Leo was talking about. He avoided falling and moved off of it and continued to help Leo to his feet.
Leo was panting hard when he was finally standing. He clinched his teeth. "Oh! It hurts!"
"I'm sure you'll be fine, but it's time to go inside and rest." Don said.
Raph took one of Leo's arms and wrapped it around his shoulders and helped him back to the house. It was hard going to get up the stairs. Painful movements inside Leo's belly had him moaning with every step.
Soon, Raph got him to his room to where he had to lay down. Leo still had a severe stomachache from the fall, but it was somewhat lessoning up.
"Are you alright now?" Don asked.
"Slipping on the ice and having the babies hit me so hard, knocked all the wind out of me. It still hurts, but yeah, I'll be fine." Leo said. He was still trying to catch his breath.
Splinter hated to see his son in pain like this, but then he came up with a decision. "Leonardo, as you are in your last weeks, perhaps it is better that you stay inside now. You don't need that happening again."
"I agree with Master Splinter, Leo. If you had fallen on your stomach, it could harm the babies. Speaking of which, I'm going to get the listening radio that April got at her doctor last time. I want to listen to the babies' heartbeats to make sure they're not stressed." Don said and left the room.
Don came back moments later with a handheld listening device that Leo had never seen before. Leo, Raph, and Splinter watched as Don turned it on and he put the listener part on Leo's belly to try to hear the heartbeats.
It took a lot of moving the listener around, but Don did find one heartbeat. It was beating quite fast. Obviously the fall had it quite stressed. Then Don tried to find the second heartbeat. When he did find the other heart, it too was stressed.
"Leo, the hearts sound stressed after what happened. You should stay in bed the rest of the day and recuperate. I'll see how you are later in the day." Don said.
The pregnant turtle really hated this. He wanted to do stuff like he normally would. But of course, he would do this for the twins. It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't pregnant, but he was, so he had to cope the best he could. Leo was so ready for the twins to be born.
They got Leo comfortable in his bed and Don gave Leo a massage to try to soothe him to sleep. It didn't take Leo long to fall asleep from the soothing feelings of the massage. Seeing that Leo was asleep, Raph and Splinter left the room.
Don continued working Leo's aching muscles even after his brother had fallen asleep. He started to rub on Leo's belly to try to soothe the babies within as well.
At one point, Don did feel a baby kick out at his hand. He smiled. This baby obviously wanted out soon. It still wasn't entirely ready yet, but it would get its leg room hopefully in a couple of weeks. Once Don finally finished up with the massage, he left Leo to sleep peacefully.
…
When Don came out of Leo's room, he and the other family members had a meeting.
"With Leo being so close to his due date now, we can't risk anymore stress like that on him." Don said.
"So what are suggesting, Donatello?" Splinter asked.
"I know this is hard on him, but when listening to the babies' hearts, they were incredibly stressed. Up until the day of the scheduled surgery, I think Leo needs to stay on bed rest. It's for his and the twins' own good. He's had enough stress in his pregnancy already." Don explained.
"You know he isn't going to like that." Leatherhead said.
"He doesn't have to, but if he wants healthy babies, he's going to have to do this. We all can take turns hanging out with him so he doesn't get bored in bed." Don said. "But also be prepared that he'll have mood swings."
April had also been at the meeting and she hoped she wouldn't have to go on bed rest later on. She felt for Leo so badly. He was nearly at the end of his pregnancy, but had also suffered a lot more stress than she ever had.
….
Leo slept most of the rest of the day away. Don checked in on him just before dinner. He gently shook him awake.
"Leo. Leo. How are you feeling?"
Leo groaned. "Tired."
"I meant are you in any pain?"
When he got more of his senses back, Leo said, "No. I think the rest helped me get better."
"It's almost time for dinner, Leo, but I also have some bad news for you." Don said.
Leo's eyes lit up. "Is something wrong with the babies? Or anyone else?"
"No. But, since the twins were so stressed earlier today, and with you being so close to your due date, we all had a family meeting and we all agree that until further notice, you need to be on bed rest."
"Don, I'll be more careful. Please, I have to be able to get up and move around." Leo said.
"Leo, we will find ways to keep you from getting bored, but with the exception of bathroom trips and baths, you are to stay in bed until further notice. Understand? It's for your and the babies' own good. You do have a clumsy streak at times and we don't need you falling down again. We'll bring you food and games in bed. Promise me that you'll stay in bed." Don said.
As much as he hated this idea the family had come up with, he understood it. "Yes, Donny. I promise. Even though I hate it."
"We all had a feeling that you would hate it. But it needs to be done. You can get up and walk around your room a few times a day if you feel like you need to stretch your legs, but no more going downstairs. And now that it is dinnertime, I'll bring you some of the food and I know you're upset, but try to eat." Don said.
Leo scowled and looked down at his feet. He wasn't happy about this at all, but he would abide by the rules. He didn't want to cause the twins anymore stress.
Don left the room and brought Leo some soup. After the fall that morning, it would be gentle on his stomach.
Leo accepted the tray, but he didn't dive into the food right away.
Don knew he was disappointed, but he still needed to eat. "Please eat, Leo. I know you're mad, but it's just to avoid stressing the babies out again."
"I'll be fine, Don. And I'll eat if you can just please leave me alone." Leo said.
"Sure. One of us will be back for the bowl and tray later." Don said. He knew Leo would react like that, but it needed to be done.
When Don was gone, Leo just glared at his reflection in the soup. He wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, but he knew that he needed the nourishment for the twins.
He looked down at his stomach. "I love you two so much, and would do anything to maintain your safety, but why does all this stress have to keep happening?"
The only answer he got was some kicks and punches and one of the babies rolled over. There was a slightly painful reaction in his stomach as the baby that rolled. His internal organs must also have been bruised from the fall.
Leo began eating the soup, hoping it would calm the babies down.
Downstairs, everyone else was upset that Leo wouldn't be joining them at the table anytime soon. But they all knew it was for the best.
Mikey went upstairs after dinner to get Leo's food tray. He saw Leo was looking not too happy.
"Hey, Leo. I just came up for the tray." Mikey said.
"Here. Take it." Leo grumped.
Mikey took it, and then said, "If you want, I'm free to hang out."
"No, thanks. I just want to be left alone for a while to think." Leo said.
"Ok, but let us know if you need or want anything." Mikey said.
"You know I will." Leo said.
Mikey left the room a little upset. He wanted to hang out with his big brother but Leo didn't want to. Hopefully, at some point, he would want to when he felt like it.
Leo didn't want to talk to anyone else the rest of the night. He only got up for bathroom runs and it was back to bed.
Beta read by Applepye.
Tried posting this 24 hours ago, but the website was completely off limits or something.