"Donnie!? Hey Don, are you okay!?"

Raphie was first on arriving in the alley, closely followed by Mike, who immediately checked on her twin, but then stopped at the sight of his right leg, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Oh no..."

The person, a turtle who looked alike to the inventor of the ninja team, burst into relieved tears when he realized who was with him. Crying, he choked out the names of his siblings, holding out his arms for a much needed hug.

"Donnie...Don...don't cry," Raphie tried calming his younger brother, kneeling on the ground next to him and gently caressing his head. Loving the affection, the teen instinctively cuddled up against the older turtles chest; his attempts at reassurance were at least successful enough to stop the loud crying of his brother.

Raphie sighed, whether from relief or worry he wasn't quite sure. However, the latter grew once more, when he too noticed Don's right lower leg. A large, long cut ran across it, leaking blood and certainly being the cause of Dons distress.

"Guys-!"

He briefly shared a look with Mike, turning his head as he found the remaining turtles all joining them in the alley.

"Donnie...Don, he needs help!" Raphie called out, hugging the younger turtle in his arms even tighter. Don whimpered loudly, emphasizing the point.

The actual Donnie stepped forward. As the team's medic, he was stuck taking care of this, even if it was quite strange having to examine himself, so to speak. Though he pushed that thought away for now, to have his head free to deal with the current problem.

Kneeling next to him on the ground, the inventor inspected the wound for a moment, then told Leo to get a cloth from the party wagon to stop the bleeding until they got home.

"I'll take good care of him," Donnie promised, being eyed quite suspiciously by Raphies judging gaze.

"I know what you're thinking, but I can't treat your brother here."

"So we're taking them to our home?" Raph asked, looking just as skeptical about this realization as his counterpart.

"I guess we don't have any other choice. A dirty alley in New York City isn't exactly the best place to treat a wounded leg."

Donnie watched his counterpart for a few seconds, but then focused back on the injury and treating it. A cloth was quickly found, which he wrapped around the boy's leg, then he mulled over his options for a moment.

Walking was completely out of the question, so someone had to carry the kid. But was he fine with being touched by strangers like that?

"Hey...Donnie? Um...Don?"

The younger teen's gaze shifted to his counterpart when he raised his voice, but didn't realize how weirded out the inventor looked when he said his own name.

"Can..Raph or I pick you up and carry you to the car, so we can take care of you at home?" he asked, ignoring the grumbling noise his brother made.

Don just stared at both medics for a moment, nodding timidly as if he was afraid they would bite him. Although Donnie didn't seem like he'd even bare his teeth at him.

"We're being very careful," he added, then stood up, poked Raph's arm and disappeared into the car to make room for the injured turtle in the back part.

The hothead of the group just sighed, looking like he wasn't being paid enough to take on a job like this, though eventually he decided to bend down and grab the kid, who was several centimeters taller than him, bridal style in his arms. He was the strongest on the team, so that was his job.

Although Raphie hissed at his counterpart at first, was he briefly reassured with one of Mike's hands on his shoulder, who then nodded to him that they should follow the other.

"We have to go with them... Don needs help. We can't take care of him like they can," she explained, taking her sibling by the hand and leading him to the party wagon, where their brother was already placed in the back compartment.

Raphie watched all of this for a while. How Donnie and Raph laid him on a blanket on the floor - so that he was at least somewhat comfortable - how they put his leg up and sat next to him so they were ready to go.

"That doesn't mean I really trust them," the smaller hothead murmured. "I'll keep an eye on them."

"'Kay, do that."

Lee stopped next to his siblings, his gaze fixed on his little brother for a moment before he tore it away again, sighing. "Get in," he ordered, giving the two younger siblings no chance to protest.

"Now, or you'll walk."

Not wanting that at all, Raphie started moving, Mike following close behind. Eventually they ended up sitting in the back of the car on a few seats with Don in the middle on the floor, the injured turtle covered with a blanket to keep him warm. Leo got behind the wheel while Mikey sat in the passenger seat.

--

"And...now you're taking us to your home?" Raphie asked after they had been on the road for a while. At first the ninja wanted to start a conversation, but then they weren't sure whether they could find a suitable topic or if the kids even wanted to talk, so it was all the more surprising that they took the initiative.

"Yeah dude! To our amazing home of awesomeness!" replied Mikey, turning about 180 degrees due to the lack of a seat belt, so that he was able to look into the rear compartment.

"It's a bit...unconventional," Leo explained to prepare the kids for what to expect. Their home wasn't quite what others would consider "normal".

"So don't be alarmed, okay?"

That was a bit...worrying. At least the way the leader said it. Mike tilted her head. "What do you mean? We don't care if it's not a big house-"

"That...isn't quite what I mean-" The driver shook his head. "You'll see."

Stopping in a quiet corner, both Leo and Mikey looked around, then opened a gate which they drove through. It was pitch black for a brief moment, before they found themselves in a subway tunnel.

"Are we...underground? Is this a subway?" Mike peered through the windshield, leaning over his counterpart's shoulder, who seemed amused by her confusion.

"It is, bro! We're home soon and then you'll get to see what makes it so special!"

"You livin' in a subway station or what?" Lee asked, his arms crossed with a pokerface on. He made no attempt to look outside himself, too comfortable in his current position.

"I told you our home is a little...different." Leo ignored the side-eye his counterpart sent him, instead focusing on driving further along the tracks until they eventually reached their destination.

They stopped in front of an actual unused subway station. The leader got out first and opened the back doors so that the rest could also get out of the car. Don was the last to be lifted out of the vehicle and immediately taken inside. There was no time to waste, not in his current state.

The boy snuggled against his rescuer's chest, still confused by the whole situation and just as afraid. He couldn't help but whimper, not understanding what was going on.

"You're safe here, I promise," Raph whispered when they were both out of earshot, his heart secretely aching for the poor teen. He was extremely careful when he carried him into a separate room. That one was huge and seemed to be something like a...laboratory perhaps?

A garage, maybe, but for now the injured teen focused on the compartment, which resembled a infirmary. Two beds - that had probably been stolen from a hospital - stood there, an examination table, medicine and storage cabinets, side tables and even a few chairs were stacked in one corner, right next to a cleaning bucket with a mop.

Everything seemed rather old, as if it had been screwed back together after it had fallen into slight disrepair. Don didn't know how to describe it, but it reminded him of something out of a horror game. Not particularly trustworthy, but the more time passed, the less attentive he got. The blood loss, and general state his body was in, weakened him by the minute. A reason both medics had to act fast.

Donnie followed his older brother a few seconds later, going over to a sink to wash his hands clean of all the grime and dirt he collected over the past hours.

"Put him over there."

Raph did so, placing the frail teen on the examination table, ordering him to stay there and not get up in any way, although he doubted Don really could. Quickly swapping places with his brother, he washed his hands throughoughly as well while Donnie gathered everything they needed.

Don watched his counterpart through half-lidded eyes, the thought of sleep seeming all too nice right now.

The inventor noticed the way the younger teen fought to stay awake, but there was nothing he could do about that. He didn't even know whether the kid really acknowledged what was happening here anymore, but nevertheless, he let him know what he was going to do.

"Okay listen: We have to stitch up your leg, but you won't feel a thing because we'll numb it," he explained, receiving a timid nod in response despite Donnies previous worries.

In the background, three pairs of eyes peered into the lab, all filled with various levels of concern.

"We should be with him... giving him our support somehow," Raphie murmured as he watched what was happening. Though he had to look away when the inventor started stitching up the cut. However, Don didn't even flinch, the drug already taking effect.

"We'd just get in their way," Lee answered quietly, pulling his two siblings away from the door. "So it's just a matter of waiting and not disturbing them until they are done."

The three looked around the lair. Mikey had recently disappeared and Leo was nowhere to be found either.

"...Great hospitality," Raphie murmured, being dragged along by older brother. If no one offered them a seat, they'd just look around. Curiosity took over seeing this strange place.

Their path led them into a hallway from which there were three possible paths. One of them led into the kitchen, where Mikey was scrambling about. A number of cupboards were open, pots and pans placed on the work surface.

Interested, Mike came in to look over his counterpart's shoulder. This didn't seem to bother him much. Instead he greeted the kids cheerfully when the twins came in as well.

"Hey lil dudes! You want some tea?" he asked, pointing to the kettle standing on the stove. "I can also make hot chocolate if you'd prefer that. Or just juice? I think we still have some left!"

"Hmm," Raphie hummed, mentally going over the options. All that sounded pretty tempting.

Lee shrugged. He didn't really care.

"Give me whatever Mike chooses," he answered, sitting down on one of the bar stools surrounding a metal table, that had definitely served as some type of boiler in its previous life.

"Gotcha!", came Mikey's confirmation, asking his counterpart what she wanted.

"Hmm.." Mike looked at all the options, even the juice bottles and teas. "Can I have apple juice?" she asked eventually, receiving a nod of agreement almost immediately.

"Consider it done!"

--

"So you're from another world? No clones or something similiarly awesome?" asked Mikey with a sense of curiousity, having poured himself some juice as well, now drinking it bit by bit.

"Not as far as we're aware of it," his counterpart answered directly, having already finished the drink herself and now pushed her glass across the table in a bored manner. "At least we don't have memories of labs or anything like that."

Mikey hummed. "So Donnie's lab is the first one you've ever seen?"

"Pretty much"

This tickled another curious noise out of the ninja, who looked up as someone else entered the kitchen.

"Ah, there you are," Leo said with relief obvious relief in his voice, seeing the gang sitting around the table. He himself moved towards the stove to see if the water was still hot enough to brew some tea.

"Yeah, we're in here. What were you up to, though?" Lee looked questioningly at his counterpart, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

"Preparing your beds. You're going to spend the night, right?"

"We're definitely not leaving without Don!" Raphie interjected forcefully, almost knocking over his mug moving so fast.

"Then you'll have to wait a little longer, kid."

Five pairs of eyes looked up in surprise. Raph stood in the doorway, watching the kids with a raised eyebrow. His own counterpart already whirled around, frantically growling. He expected an immediate update on his brother's condition.

"The kid's doing alright," the hothead began, crossing his arms. "But it will take a while for his leg to heal. We've stitched it up, now we just have to wait and see how it develops."

Silence fell over the room, the kids absorbing the information. Finally, after a minute that had gone on for far too long, Mike looked up. "Can we go see him?"

Raph shrugged. "Sure. I just don't think you can talk to him. Donnie gave him painkillers, so he should be knocked out for now."

The world travelers listened and nodded. However, they didn't care if Don was unresponsive. They at least wanted to see him one last time before going to bed.

"We're going anyway," Raphie said briskly, already getting up from his chair to strut past his counterpart. Mike followed after wispering a sweet "thank you" and Lee nodded to the small turtle, who switched looks with his brothers.

The lab was impossible to miss. A giant metal door marked the location, letting them know what lay behind it. It was opened a smidge and when looking inside, the kids spotted both Donnies.

Knocking first and gaining the inventor's attention, Mike entered first. "Raph said we can see him," she explained the reason for their visit, stepping towards the hospital bed where her twin lay, sleeping peacefully.

He was covered up to his chest, his arms resting on the blanket. Except for his injured leg, the rest of his lower body was hidden. He wasn't even wearing a shirt anymore; they had taken it from him to throw it into the wash, as it showed dirt spots.

"We examined him to find or rule out further injuries," the inventor explained calmly, set about tidying up the infirmary a little and preparing it for a patient at the same time.

"But other than the cut, he only suffered a few scrapes and bruises."

And Don looked like it. Band-aids decorated his delicate body here and there, the white light from above made him appear paler than he actually was. But he'd be fine, Donnie said that.

The inventor eyed the kids a bit. A few small injuries could be seen on them too, causing him to reconsider and not put the bandages away just yet.

"By the way, I would also like to examine you," he said, explaining his thoughts. The kids turned to him, quietly staring.

"Don't worry, this will just take a few minutes. I'll check to see if you've sustained any injuries and, if necessary, take care of them."

The three kids nodded, not really having another choice.

"And then it's off to bed, it's late and you need rest." The remaining three ninja came into the lab, Leo being the one to speak up.

"Donnie stays the night and looks after your brother. If something's wrong, he will notice," Raph tried to calm the kids, who were all staring at Don quite lost, not all too thrilled about the thought of leaving him here.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's better if you sleep over in the dojo," Leo replied, noticing the looks they sent the patient. "You'll see him again tomorrow and he'll probably feel a lot better then too."

Mike seemed the most cooperative, simply nodding in response. It had to be done. They couldn't leave without Don. Lee didn't care much about the whole thing as long as he had a bed and Raphie, although he growled and glared at the ninja, agreed, even with slight persuation from his siblings.

"Okay, then let's get this over with. It shouldn't take any longer than necessary."

With that, Donnie pointed to the examination table and let Mike sit down on there.

This long night would finally have an end.

=

I'm gonna be honest with you here: This chapter took me way longer to translate than I'd previously wanted. Mainly because I was stalling on translating it, due to it having almost 3K words. It's originally written in German, so I just simply translate the entire thing, but it's a pain.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed??

XxLea-nardoxX