Fic: Wasting Away Chapter 3
Title: Wasting Away
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Leo knows that there's something going on with Raph. He just never expected it to be something of this magnitude.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One (Part A) Chapter One (Part B) Chapter Two
Leo enters the lab, only to see Donnie shoving a rather long needle into Raph’s thigh muscle. He cringes at how much that must hurt, but Raph endures it with nothing more than a silent grimace. Leo waits by the door until Donnie is done, not wishing to disturb either of them. Once Donnie finishes cleaning the injection site and turns back towards his desk, Leo moves to stand beside Raph, not touching him, but close enough that he could if he thinks Raph needs a hand to hold or something. “So, how’s it going?”
Raph just shrugs as Donnie grabs another, even longer, needle. “Donnie still isn’t done taking samples and I already feel like a pin cushion.”
Donnie gives Raph a long once over, seemingly looking for the best place to inject him this time. Leo wishes that he had waited until they were finished to enter the lab, but he knows that Raph probably needs the support, even though he won’t admit it. “This is actually the last one that I’m going to take today. It’s a bone biopsy, so, needless to say, this is going to hurt. I’m just not entirely sure where I want to take it from. I don’t want to use the same area that I took the muscle biopsy from, but I also don’t want you to be sore all over.”
Raph rolls his eyes as he gestures to his other leg as well as the opposite arm. “It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other places, Don. Just pick one.”
Donnie nods once, before settling on Raph’s lower left arm. He pulls out an alcohol wipe and swaps a large area before grabbing the needle again. “Remember you’re going to need to make sure all of the injection sites remain clean, and…”
Raph rolls his eyes as he braces himself for the insertion of the needle. “I get it. We live in a sewer and they are all open wounds. Blah, blah, blah, now, move on.”
Leo can’t help but huff out a breath of laughter, despite everything. Raph is hardly the only one Donnie likes to constantly badger with well known information. However, the moment of mirth completely evaporates when Raph tenses all over and grabs Leo’s hand as Don slides the needle further into his forearm. Leo doesn’t say a word when Raph’s grip tightens painfully. Instead, he merely returns the gesture, albeit far more gently than his brother.
It seems like an eternity before Donnie removes the needle from Raph’s arm, but once he does and finishes cleaning the new wound, Raph is free to go. Normally, Raph would practically jump off of the metal table they use for medical examinations and race out of the room after being released. Now, however, Raph slowly slides off of the metal table, with Leo’s help, and gradually moves towards the door. “You should get some rest, you look pretty beat.”
Raph merely nods as he leaves, not even bothering to verbally respond. Leo waits until he’s sure that Raph’s out of ear shot before turning back towards Donnie. “How long until you know something?”
Donnie sighs heavily and rubs his eyes as he slumps in his chair. “It’s gonna take some time to analyze all of the different samples I took, and, even then…I might not learn anything of import, Leo.”
Leo does his best to stand tall as he moves to Donnie’s side, even though all he wants to do is crumble. Still, all of his brothers need him to be strong right now, especially Raph. “How long are we talking here, Don?”
Donnie just shrugs as he spins his chair around to face Leo. “The different samples require different tests. Not to mention, I’m the only one who’s able to analyze the results, and that’s even assuming I understand what I’m looking at, given we’ve never encountered anything like this before. All of which means various time scales across the board. Some will hopefully only take a few hours to finish; others will take days or even weeks, and that’s assuming I forgo breaks and sleep.”
Leo shakes his head as he lays a hand on Donnie’s shoulder. “You can’t do that, Don. We all want to do whatever we can to help Raph as quickly as possible, but forgoing sleep or even breaks when you need them isn’t going to help anyone. You can’t afford to exhaust yourself completely. Think about how that would make Raph feel, knowing that you’re wearing yourself out for him. Not to mention, we probably shouldn’t do anything to stress him out more than he already is, so if I even so much as think you’re overdoing it, I will put you on timed lab sessions.”
Donnie nods his head once before giving Leo, what appears to be, the best reassuring smile he can muster. “I’ll try to remember that, Leo, but you know how it is when I’m working on something this important.”
Leo lets his hand fall away from Don’s shoulder after one final encouraging squeeze. “I know, but remember, while Mikey and I can’t necessarily help you with the science side of all of this, we are here for emotional support any time you need it.”
Donnie huffs out a breath. “Shouldn’t you be saying that to Raph?”
Leo shakes his head as he gathers Donnie into a hug, although he’s not entirely sure for whose benefit. “Raph isn’t the only one who needs to hear it.”
Donnie returns the hug but before long he pulls away. “Well, I should get back to work before your mother hen tendencies kick in full force. Also, you should go check on Mikey. He’s been alone for quite some time and I’m worried about him.”
Leo nods, knowing that Donnie is right. Mikey probably shouldn’t be alone right now. Hell, as far as Leo’s concerned, he doesn’t really believe any of his little brothers should be left alone right now, but he can’t deny that Raph really does need some sleep and Donnie needs time to himself, not just to run tests, but to process everything that’s going on as well. As for Leo, he would love some time to meditate and find some way to deal with all of this, but he knows now isn’t the time. Someone needs to be there for Mikey to make sure he doesn’t fall into despair, and that’s not something either of his other brothers can really handle right now, and nor should they. It is, as it always has been, his responsibility, after all.
Leo leaves the lab and just stares in utter shock at what has become of the area surrounding the TV. He doesn’t know how long he was in the lab talking to Donnie, but he’s reasonably sure that it wasn’t enough time for anyone to make such a mess, even if he did leave Mikey unattended for some time. Leo doesn’t have it in him to yell at his little brother about the mess, because Leo knows the signs. This isn’t just the actions of a rambunctious Michelangelo, running around the lair, knocking things over as he goes. This is the actions of a Michelangelo too scattered brained from too much worry to focus on anything, and leaving disaster in his wake.
Leo searches the area for his little brother, knowing that when Mikey gets this bad it can be dangerous. He usually ends up hurting himself when he’s in this kind of chaotic state. It’s not Mikey’s fault, of course. He just isn’t able to focus enough to realize things are falling, or precariously perched, or that he’s doing something that most likely will end in a concussion. Leo finds his little brother practically covered in games with various other items scattered around him, staring at his hands, seemingly lost in thought. “You okay?” Leo pulls his younger brother to his feet, while simultaneously giving him a once over, looking for any injuries. He breathes a small sigh of relief when he finds none.
Mikey nods once before noticing the mess around him. “Oh man, Leo. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Mikey trails off as he gestures widely to the room in general, but the pause only lasts for a second. After that Mikey starts talking a mile a minute and his eyes keep dashing all over the place. He looks as though it’s physically painful to be standing still…well, as still as Mikey ever is. “I was just looking for a game, but then I realized you don’t like to play most of the games I do, and then I thought about just finding something for us to watch, but then I realized that might wake Raph, and so I was looking for…”
Leo cuts Mikey off by grabbing a hold of his shoulders and forces his little brother to just focus on him. “It’s okay, Mikey. How about we work together to clean up the room, and then I’ll just pick a game. Does that sound good?”
Mikey nods again as the two of them start cleaning up the room. Leo makes sure to keep an eye on him, directing him every time he seems to get overwhelmed or distracted. It takes longer for the two of them to finish cleaning than if Leo had just done it himself, but he knows that Mikey needs the structure and activity right now. Once they finish, Leo grabs the first game off the top of the pile and they start playing. It turns out to be Mario Kart, which is a good thing. Playing a game that Mikey tends to be quite competitive at should keep his younger brother’s mind off of everything else, at least for a little while.
At first, Mikey is still too distracted to focus on the game, but after his third loss in a row Leo can tell that he’s starting to calm down and his competitive nature is starting to rear its head. By the fifth race, Mikey’s attention has completely shifted to the game, and from there every lap is a hard fought battle. They’re on the final lap of the final race of the final cup, when Raph emerges from his room, and Leo is so surprised that his brother bothered to leave the confines of his solitude that he drops his controller. Mikey’s victory dance and subsequent gloating is abruptly cut short when he glances over toward Leo, and notices that he’s not paying attention to him. Leo can feel Mikey’s eyes drift away from him, following his brother’s gaze to their other, still exhausted, sibling.
Mikey smiles as brightly as he can, given the circumstances. “Hey, bro, how ya feelin’?”
Raph shrugs as he slowly makes his way towards them and gently lowers himself down beside them. “Still sore from all of Donnie’s tests.”
Mikey nods as he gets to his feet. “You feel like eating something? Leo and I were thinking about having a movie night tonight. I could get you your unfinished strawberry bread, and then make M&M popcorn.”
Leo can tell from Raph’s posture that the very thought of food isn’t a very pleasant one, but he still nods his head in assent, most likely for Mikey’s benefit. Neither Raph nor Leo like it when Mikey worries, and not just because of his frenzied outbursts -- such as the disaster he created earlier. They both see themselves as the protectors of the family, and Leo knows Raph believes that includes their brothers’ emotional states, just like he does. “Sounds good, Mikey.”
The words are barely out of Raph’s mouth before Mikey dashes out of the room towards the kitchen, and Leo can’t help but chuckle at Mikey’s enthusiasm. Leo’s just pleased that, while Mikey seems have made Raph eating his new personal mission, Mikey hasn’t tried to feed Raph anything questionable yet. “You know, I think he really enjoys any form of cooking he can do. I just wish we enjoyed eating his more creative connections as much as he enjoys making them.”
Raph shrugs and Leo can tell that the arm that Donnie took the bone biopsy from is bothering him slightly. “Not sure how much he enjoys making it as opposed to eating it, but, either way; I think he just likes having something to keep him busy. You know how he is…even at the best of times.”
The melancholy tone to Raph’s voice has Leo on edge, but it’s not as though he can do anything about it, so instead Leo focuses on something that he can do. “Do you want an icepack? It might help with the pain.”
Raph shrugs, seemingly unsure if he actually believes the icepack will do anything. At this point, Leo honestly just wants a chance to actually be useful, and he’s fairly certain that Raph has picked up on that. “Sure. Can’t get any worse, right?”
Leo doesn’t mention that it is, indeed, possible for things to get worse, and instead, calmly walks away to get the icepack. Mikey’s in the kitchen grabbing a random assortment of items from all over the place, and Leo worries for a moment that their video game session might not have had as great as an effect on his little brother as he had hoped. “You okay, Mikey?”
Mikey nods as he practically dances around Leo to grab four cups and plates, while Leo greets Ice Cream Kitty and grabs the icepack. “I figured Raph is probably thirsty, too, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable about ‘special’ treatment and all that, so I decided to get snacks for everyone. You think we can convince Don to leave the lab yet?”
Leo nods as he shuts the freezer door. “Yeah, I bet I can coax him out.”
Mikey shakes his head as he throws a packet of popcorn in the microwave and turns it on. “You already threatened to limit his lab time, didn’t you?”
Leo shrugs as he starts to gather some of the stuff Mikey has collected for their movie night. “I wouldn’t say I threatened him, Mikey. It was more of a gentle reminder.”
Mikey moves past him to grab a large bowl for the popcorn. “Uh huh, and did this ‘gentle reminder’ involve your ‘Leader’ face?”
Leo stares at Mikey as though he’s speaking another language. “Well, I am the leader and it is my face, so…”
Mikey shakes his head again as he spins around and shoves some more items into Leo’s already full hands. “You know what I mean, bro. You get all stern and scary.”
Leo can’t help but chuckle as he rolls his eyes. “Fine, there may have been a ‘leader face’.”
“I knew it!” Mikey practically jumps up and down before shoving Leo towards the door. “Now go put that stuff in the other room and get Donnie. We don’t want the popcorn to get cold.”
Leo shifts a little to get a better hold on everything, and then starts to make his way out of the kitchen. “Fine, but don’t forget the…”
“M&Ms!” Mikey interrupts excitedly as he dashes to the other side of the kitchen. “I’m on it!”
Leo flinches but chooses to ignore whatever caused the crashing noise behind him. After all, he can always have Mikey clean it up later. He drops everything in his arms in front of Raph and hands him the icepack. Raph is slow to take it, which has Leo worried. He knows Raph is tired and sore, but he’s not entirely sure that Raph should be moving so stiffly. He’s never seen his brother so weak before and it terrifies Leo in a way he never anticipated. He helps Raph settle into a comfortable position, with a large glass of water, and then goes to get Donnie.
When Leo enters the lab, Donnie is in the same position he was hours ago, sitting in front of his computer and staring at the screen. Leo honestly isn’t even sure if Donnie is reading anything on the screen. He just looks so lost. Leo goes over and places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Donnie shakes his head as if to clear it before giving Leo his full attention, and Leo immediately braces himself for the worst. Donnie only ever gives someone his full attention if he doesn’t have anything else going on -- which almost never happens -- or when he has to deliver bad news. “Raph’s white blood cell count is normal.”
Leo’s eyes narrow in confusion. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Donnie shakes his head. “When we originally fought The Creep and I had to treat Raph, I treated this like an infection, and so did his body. His white blood cell count should be higher than normal.”
Leo can’t help but swallow reflexively a few times, his throat suddenly feeling extremely dry. “Meaning?”
Donnie sighs heavily as he clutches his head in his hands. “Meaning that Raph’s body isn’t attacking the infection, because it doesn’t see this as an infection. It’s possible that it’s because his actual genes are mutating, as opposed to there being mutated genes replicating in his body.”
Leo tries to stay calm and figure out what exactly Donnie is talking about, but this really isn’t his area of expertise. “What are you saying, Donnie?”
Donnie takes another shuddering breath before meeting Leo’s eyes. “Look, I’m not certain of anything yet, and there are still a lot of tests I’m running, but…but you have to understand something here, Leo. I…I might not be able to fix this.”
Leo frantically shakes his head, unwilling to accept such a thing. “What do you mean, Donnie?”
“Leo, listen to me. Even if Raph is de-mutating back into that plant thing again and not a regular turtle, I might not be able do anything.”
Leo clutches his hands into fists and attempts to keep his voice down. “What do we do, then? Raph can’t just live his life as a plant!”
Donnie slumps further into his chair, seemingly lost. “I don’t know, Leo. I really don’t know.”
Leo takes a deep breath and desperately tries to relax himself. It takes him longer than he wants to admit to calm down. “Okay, so you technically don’t know anything right now, right?” At Donnie’s nod, Leo continues. “Then we’re going to keep this quiet for right now. Raph doesn’t need the added stress and Mikey doesn’t need to fall into despair. We’re going to go watch a movie, and have a nice relaxing night, and when you know more then, and only then, will we inform Raph of any of this. Okay?”
Donnie nods as he gets to his feet. “Just give me a few moments to compose myself, and then I’ll be out.”
It’s then that Leo notices his hands are trembling. He shakes them out and stands tall. He makes his way towards the door, desperately trying to hide any evidence of how deeply Donatello’s doubt has affected him. He takes another large steadying breath, before opening the door, and leaving Donnie to get himself under control.
He walks over and plops himself down right beside Raph. “Did you two finish your normal argument over the movie selection yet?”
Mikey shakes his head as he bites his bottom lip, looking more concerned than ever. “Raph said he doesn’t care as long as it doesn’t have subtitles and there’s no singing, so, of course, all Disney movies are out, which basically means no animated films for us tonight.”
Leo does his best to appear relaxed as he joins in on the conversation. “Well, there’s always Finding Nemo.”
Mikey immediately perks up as he begins searching for it, but Raph merely shakes his head. “There’s that whole ‘just keep swimming’ song and all the songs that the manta ray sings.”
Leo rolls his eyes as he gently nudges his brother. “Oh, come on, Raph. Those hardly count.”
Raph grumbles as Donnie comes out of his lab and sits down in front of them. “Did you guys settle on a movie yet?”
Leo glances over at Raph and smirks, hoping that, for once, his little brother can’t see right through him. “I don’t know. Have we?”
Raph rolls his eyes as he shifts to get more comfortable. “Fine, whatever, just play the stupid movie and hand me the popcorn.”
Mikey absolutely beams at Raph’s demand for the popcorn as he settles in right next to Donnie. The movie starts to play and Leo does his best to focus solely on the screen and let everything else drift away for a while, but he finds it rather difficult to ignore the knot forming in his stomach. Still, he steals the popcorn from Raph halfway through the movie and is rather pleased to find at least a third of it gone. Sure, it’s not as much as he normally would eat, but it’s more than Leo anticipated he would. When the movie ends, Mikey gets up and immediately starts another one, and Raph doesn’t even bother to grumble about the fact that it’s The Little Mermaid, despite his previous objections to anything with singing in it.
Donnie chuckles, however, as he takes a sip of his drink. “Apparently we’re having a sea themed night.”
Leo smiles as Raph grabs the popcorn off of him again and starts absentmindedly searching for the M&Ms. “I don’t mind.”
Raph nods as he chews on a green M&M. “Better than Mikey’s sing-a-long nights.” He suddenly glares at Mikey and throws a handful of popcorn at him. “And no, that is not a suggestion, Mikey.”
Mikey turns around and pouts at Raph for a second before his expression shifts into a large grin. “Aw, come on, Raphie. We can duet Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
Raph grimaces as he shakes his head, and Leo can tell that the movement hurt him, though Raph is acting as though he’s fine. “No!”
Raph gathers up another fistful of popcorn and throws it at Mikey, but Mikey catches most of it in his mouth. “Thanks, dude, I was feeling kind of hungry.”
Raph rolls his eyes again as he nudges Mikey with his foot. “Just shut up and watch the movie ya goofball.”
Mikey settles down and they all fall silent once again. Leo spends the entire rest of the movie trying to imagine doing things like this without Raph, but he can’t. Every time he thinks about it there’s an aching in his chest and all he sees is an empty seat and hollowed out faces. They have to find a way to save their brother, because the alternative is something Leo is absolutely positive none of them can endure.
The End (for now)
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Leo knows that there's something going on with Raph. He just never expected it to be something of this magnitude.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One (Part A) Chapter One (Part B) Chapter Two
Leo enters the lab, only to see Donnie shoving a rather long needle into Raph’s thigh muscle. He cringes at how much that must hurt, but Raph endures it with nothing more than a silent grimace. Leo waits by the door until Donnie is done, not wishing to disturb either of them. Once Donnie finishes cleaning the injection site and turns back towards his desk, Leo moves to stand beside Raph, not touching him, but close enough that he could if he thinks Raph needs a hand to hold or something. “So, how’s it going?”
Raph just shrugs as Donnie grabs another, even longer, needle. “Donnie still isn’t done taking samples and I already feel like a pin cushion.”
Donnie gives Raph a long once over, seemingly looking for the best place to inject him this time. Leo wishes that he had waited until they were finished to enter the lab, but he knows that Raph probably needs the support, even though he won’t admit it. “This is actually the last one that I’m going to take today. It’s a bone biopsy, so, needless to say, this is going to hurt. I’m just not entirely sure where I want to take it from. I don’t want to use the same area that I took the muscle biopsy from, but I also don’t want you to be sore all over.”
Raph rolls his eyes as he gestures to his other leg as well as the opposite arm. “It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other places, Don. Just pick one.”
Donnie nods once, before settling on Raph’s lower left arm. He pulls out an alcohol wipe and swaps a large area before grabbing the needle again. “Remember you’re going to need to make sure all of the injection sites remain clean, and…”
Raph rolls his eyes as he braces himself for the insertion of the needle. “I get it. We live in a sewer and they are all open wounds. Blah, blah, blah, now, move on.”
Leo can’t help but huff out a breath of laughter, despite everything. Raph is hardly the only one Donnie likes to constantly badger with well known information. However, the moment of mirth completely evaporates when Raph tenses all over and grabs Leo’s hand as Don slides the needle further into his forearm. Leo doesn’t say a word when Raph’s grip tightens painfully. Instead, he merely returns the gesture, albeit far more gently than his brother.
It seems like an eternity before Donnie removes the needle from Raph’s arm, but once he does and finishes cleaning the new wound, Raph is free to go. Normally, Raph would practically jump off of the metal table they use for medical examinations and race out of the room after being released. Now, however, Raph slowly slides off of the metal table, with Leo’s help, and gradually moves towards the door. “You should get some rest, you look pretty beat.”
Raph merely nods as he leaves, not even bothering to verbally respond. Leo waits until he’s sure that Raph’s out of ear shot before turning back towards Donnie. “How long until you know something?”
Donnie sighs heavily and rubs his eyes as he slumps in his chair. “It’s gonna take some time to analyze all of the different samples I took, and, even then…I might not learn anything of import, Leo.”
Leo does his best to stand tall as he moves to Donnie’s side, even though all he wants to do is crumble. Still, all of his brothers need him to be strong right now, especially Raph. “How long are we talking here, Don?”
Donnie just shrugs as he spins his chair around to face Leo. “The different samples require different tests. Not to mention, I’m the only one who’s able to analyze the results, and that’s even assuming I understand what I’m looking at, given we’ve never encountered anything like this before. All of which means various time scales across the board. Some will hopefully only take a few hours to finish; others will take days or even weeks, and that’s assuming I forgo breaks and sleep.”
Leo shakes his head as he lays a hand on Donnie’s shoulder. “You can’t do that, Don. We all want to do whatever we can to help Raph as quickly as possible, but forgoing sleep or even breaks when you need them isn’t going to help anyone. You can’t afford to exhaust yourself completely. Think about how that would make Raph feel, knowing that you’re wearing yourself out for him. Not to mention, we probably shouldn’t do anything to stress him out more than he already is, so if I even so much as think you’re overdoing it, I will put you on timed lab sessions.”
Donnie nods his head once before giving Leo, what appears to be, the best reassuring smile he can muster. “I’ll try to remember that, Leo, but you know how it is when I’m working on something this important.”
Leo lets his hand fall away from Don’s shoulder after one final encouraging squeeze. “I know, but remember, while Mikey and I can’t necessarily help you with the science side of all of this, we are here for emotional support any time you need it.”
Donnie huffs out a breath. “Shouldn’t you be saying that to Raph?”
Leo shakes his head as he gathers Donnie into a hug, although he’s not entirely sure for whose benefit. “Raph isn’t the only one who needs to hear it.”
Donnie returns the hug but before long he pulls away. “Well, I should get back to work before your mother hen tendencies kick in full force. Also, you should go check on Mikey. He’s been alone for quite some time and I’m worried about him.”
Leo nods, knowing that Donnie is right. Mikey probably shouldn’t be alone right now. Hell, as far as Leo’s concerned, he doesn’t really believe any of his little brothers should be left alone right now, but he can’t deny that Raph really does need some sleep and Donnie needs time to himself, not just to run tests, but to process everything that’s going on as well. As for Leo, he would love some time to meditate and find some way to deal with all of this, but he knows now isn’t the time. Someone needs to be there for Mikey to make sure he doesn’t fall into despair, and that’s not something either of his other brothers can really handle right now, and nor should they. It is, as it always has been, his responsibility, after all.
Leo leaves the lab and just stares in utter shock at what has become of the area surrounding the TV. He doesn’t know how long he was in the lab talking to Donnie, but he’s reasonably sure that it wasn’t enough time for anyone to make such a mess, even if he did leave Mikey unattended for some time. Leo doesn’t have it in him to yell at his little brother about the mess, because Leo knows the signs. This isn’t just the actions of a rambunctious Michelangelo, running around the lair, knocking things over as he goes. This is the actions of a Michelangelo too scattered brained from too much worry to focus on anything, and leaving disaster in his wake.
Leo searches the area for his little brother, knowing that when Mikey gets this bad it can be dangerous. He usually ends up hurting himself when he’s in this kind of chaotic state. It’s not Mikey’s fault, of course. He just isn’t able to focus enough to realize things are falling, or precariously perched, or that he’s doing something that most likely will end in a concussion. Leo finds his little brother practically covered in games with various other items scattered around him, staring at his hands, seemingly lost in thought. “You okay?” Leo pulls his younger brother to his feet, while simultaneously giving him a once over, looking for any injuries. He breathes a small sigh of relief when he finds none.
Mikey nods once before noticing the mess around him. “Oh man, Leo. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Mikey trails off as he gestures widely to the room in general, but the pause only lasts for a second. After that Mikey starts talking a mile a minute and his eyes keep dashing all over the place. He looks as though it’s physically painful to be standing still…well, as still as Mikey ever is. “I was just looking for a game, but then I realized you don’t like to play most of the games I do, and then I thought about just finding something for us to watch, but then I realized that might wake Raph, and so I was looking for…”
Leo cuts Mikey off by grabbing a hold of his shoulders and forces his little brother to just focus on him. “It’s okay, Mikey. How about we work together to clean up the room, and then I’ll just pick a game. Does that sound good?”
Mikey nods again as the two of them start cleaning up the room. Leo makes sure to keep an eye on him, directing him every time he seems to get overwhelmed or distracted. It takes longer for the two of them to finish cleaning than if Leo had just done it himself, but he knows that Mikey needs the structure and activity right now. Once they finish, Leo grabs the first game off the top of the pile and they start playing. It turns out to be Mario Kart, which is a good thing. Playing a game that Mikey tends to be quite competitive at should keep his younger brother’s mind off of everything else, at least for a little while.
At first, Mikey is still too distracted to focus on the game, but after his third loss in a row Leo can tell that he’s starting to calm down and his competitive nature is starting to rear its head. By the fifth race, Mikey’s attention has completely shifted to the game, and from there every lap is a hard fought battle. They’re on the final lap of the final race of the final cup, when Raph emerges from his room, and Leo is so surprised that his brother bothered to leave the confines of his solitude that he drops his controller. Mikey’s victory dance and subsequent gloating is abruptly cut short when he glances over toward Leo, and notices that he’s not paying attention to him. Leo can feel Mikey’s eyes drift away from him, following his brother’s gaze to their other, still exhausted, sibling.
Mikey smiles as brightly as he can, given the circumstances. “Hey, bro, how ya feelin’?”
Raph shrugs as he slowly makes his way towards them and gently lowers himself down beside them. “Still sore from all of Donnie’s tests.”
Mikey nods as he gets to his feet. “You feel like eating something? Leo and I were thinking about having a movie night tonight. I could get you your unfinished strawberry bread, and then make M&M popcorn.”
Leo can tell from Raph’s posture that the very thought of food isn’t a very pleasant one, but he still nods his head in assent, most likely for Mikey’s benefit. Neither Raph nor Leo like it when Mikey worries, and not just because of his frenzied outbursts -- such as the disaster he created earlier. They both see themselves as the protectors of the family, and Leo knows Raph believes that includes their brothers’ emotional states, just like he does. “Sounds good, Mikey.”
The words are barely out of Raph’s mouth before Mikey dashes out of the room towards the kitchen, and Leo can’t help but chuckle at Mikey’s enthusiasm. Leo’s just pleased that, while Mikey seems have made Raph eating his new personal mission, Mikey hasn’t tried to feed Raph anything questionable yet. “You know, I think he really enjoys any form of cooking he can do. I just wish we enjoyed eating his more creative connections as much as he enjoys making them.”
Raph shrugs and Leo can tell that the arm that Donnie took the bone biopsy from is bothering him slightly. “Not sure how much he enjoys making it as opposed to eating it, but, either way; I think he just likes having something to keep him busy. You know how he is…even at the best of times.”
The melancholy tone to Raph’s voice has Leo on edge, but it’s not as though he can do anything about it, so instead Leo focuses on something that he can do. “Do you want an icepack? It might help with the pain.”
Raph shrugs, seemingly unsure if he actually believes the icepack will do anything. At this point, Leo honestly just wants a chance to actually be useful, and he’s fairly certain that Raph has picked up on that. “Sure. Can’t get any worse, right?”
Leo doesn’t mention that it is, indeed, possible for things to get worse, and instead, calmly walks away to get the icepack. Mikey’s in the kitchen grabbing a random assortment of items from all over the place, and Leo worries for a moment that their video game session might not have had as great as an effect on his little brother as he had hoped. “You okay, Mikey?”
Mikey nods as he practically dances around Leo to grab four cups and plates, while Leo greets Ice Cream Kitty and grabs the icepack. “I figured Raph is probably thirsty, too, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable about ‘special’ treatment and all that, so I decided to get snacks for everyone. You think we can convince Don to leave the lab yet?”
Leo nods as he shuts the freezer door. “Yeah, I bet I can coax him out.”
Mikey shakes his head as he throws a packet of popcorn in the microwave and turns it on. “You already threatened to limit his lab time, didn’t you?”
Leo shrugs as he starts to gather some of the stuff Mikey has collected for their movie night. “I wouldn’t say I threatened him, Mikey. It was more of a gentle reminder.”
Mikey moves past him to grab a large bowl for the popcorn. “Uh huh, and did this ‘gentle reminder’ involve your ‘Leader’ face?”
Leo stares at Mikey as though he’s speaking another language. “Well, I am the leader and it is my face, so…”
Mikey shakes his head again as he spins around and shoves some more items into Leo’s already full hands. “You know what I mean, bro. You get all stern and scary.”
Leo can’t help but chuckle as he rolls his eyes. “Fine, there may have been a ‘leader face’.”
“I knew it!” Mikey practically jumps up and down before shoving Leo towards the door. “Now go put that stuff in the other room and get Donnie. We don’t want the popcorn to get cold.”
Leo shifts a little to get a better hold on everything, and then starts to make his way out of the kitchen. “Fine, but don’t forget the…”
“M&Ms!” Mikey interrupts excitedly as he dashes to the other side of the kitchen. “I’m on it!”
Leo flinches but chooses to ignore whatever caused the crashing noise behind him. After all, he can always have Mikey clean it up later. He drops everything in his arms in front of Raph and hands him the icepack. Raph is slow to take it, which has Leo worried. He knows Raph is tired and sore, but he’s not entirely sure that Raph should be moving so stiffly. He’s never seen his brother so weak before and it terrifies Leo in a way he never anticipated. He helps Raph settle into a comfortable position, with a large glass of water, and then goes to get Donnie.
When Leo enters the lab, Donnie is in the same position he was hours ago, sitting in front of his computer and staring at the screen. Leo honestly isn’t even sure if Donnie is reading anything on the screen. He just looks so lost. Leo goes over and places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Donnie shakes his head as if to clear it before giving Leo his full attention, and Leo immediately braces himself for the worst. Donnie only ever gives someone his full attention if he doesn’t have anything else going on -- which almost never happens -- or when he has to deliver bad news. “Raph’s white blood cell count is normal.”
Leo’s eyes narrow in confusion. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Donnie shakes his head. “When we originally fought The Creep and I had to treat Raph, I treated this like an infection, and so did his body. His white blood cell count should be higher than normal.”
Leo can’t help but swallow reflexively a few times, his throat suddenly feeling extremely dry. “Meaning?”
Donnie sighs heavily as he clutches his head in his hands. “Meaning that Raph’s body isn’t attacking the infection, because it doesn’t see this as an infection. It’s possible that it’s because his actual genes are mutating, as opposed to there being mutated genes replicating in his body.”
Leo tries to stay calm and figure out what exactly Donnie is talking about, but this really isn’t his area of expertise. “What are you saying, Donnie?”
Donnie takes another shuddering breath before meeting Leo’s eyes. “Look, I’m not certain of anything yet, and there are still a lot of tests I’m running, but…but you have to understand something here, Leo. I…I might not be able to fix this.”
Leo frantically shakes his head, unwilling to accept such a thing. “What do you mean, Donnie?”
“Leo, listen to me. Even if Raph is de-mutating back into that plant thing again and not a regular turtle, I might not be able do anything.”
Leo clutches his hands into fists and attempts to keep his voice down. “What do we do, then? Raph can’t just live his life as a plant!”
Donnie slumps further into his chair, seemingly lost. “I don’t know, Leo. I really don’t know.”
Leo takes a deep breath and desperately tries to relax himself. It takes him longer than he wants to admit to calm down. “Okay, so you technically don’t know anything right now, right?” At Donnie’s nod, Leo continues. “Then we’re going to keep this quiet for right now. Raph doesn’t need the added stress and Mikey doesn’t need to fall into despair. We’re going to go watch a movie, and have a nice relaxing night, and when you know more then, and only then, will we inform Raph of any of this. Okay?”
Donnie nods as he gets to his feet. “Just give me a few moments to compose myself, and then I’ll be out.”
It’s then that Leo notices his hands are trembling. He shakes them out and stands tall. He makes his way towards the door, desperately trying to hide any evidence of how deeply Donatello’s doubt has affected him. He takes another large steadying breath, before opening the door, and leaving Donnie to get himself under control.
He walks over and plops himself down right beside Raph. “Did you two finish your normal argument over the movie selection yet?”
Mikey shakes his head as he bites his bottom lip, looking more concerned than ever. “Raph said he doesn’t care as long as it doesn’t have subtitles and there’s no singing, so, of course, all Disney movies are out, which basically means no animated films for us tonight.”
Leo does his best to appear relaxed as he joins in on the conversation. “Well, there’s always Finding Nemo.”
Mikey immediately perks up as he begins searching for it, but Raph merely shakes his head. “There’s that whole ‘just keep swimming’ song and all the songs that the manta ray sings.”
Leo rolls his eyes as he gently nudges his brother. “Oh, come on, Raph. Those hardly count.”
Raph grumbles as Donnie comes out of his lab and sits down in front of them. “Did you guys settle on a movie yet?”
Leo glances over at Raph and smirks, hoping that, for once, his little brother can’t see right through him. “I don’t know. Have we?”
Raph rolls his eyes as he shifts to get more comfortable. “Fine, whatever, just play the stupid movie and hand me the popcorn.”
Mikey absolutely beams at Raph’s demand for the popcorn as he settles in right next to Donnie. The movie starts to play and Leo does his best to focus solely on the screen and let everything else drift away for a while, but he finds it rather difficult to ignore the knot forming in his stomach. Still, he steals the popcorn from Raph halfway through the movie and is rather pleased to find at least a third of it gone. Sure, it’s not as much as he normally would eat, but it’s more than Leo anticipated he would. When the movie ends, Mikey gets up and immediately starts another one, and Raph doesn’t even bother to grumble about the fact that it’s The Little Mermaid, despite his previous objections to anything with singing in it.
Donnie chuckles, however, as he takes a sip of his drink. “Apparently we’re having a sea themed night.”
Leo smiles as Raph grabs the popcorn off of him again and starts absentmindedly searching for the M&Ms. “I don’t mind.”
Raph nods as he chews on a green M&M. “Better than Mikey’s sing-a-long nights.” He suddenly glares at Mikey and throws a handful of popcorn at him. “And no, that is not a suggestion, Mikey.”
Mikey turns around and pouts at Raph for a second before his expression shifts into a large grin. “Aw, come on, Raphie. We can duet Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
Raph grimaces as he shakes his head, and Leo can tell that the movement hurt him, though Raph is acting as though he’s fine. “No!”
Raph gathers up another fistful of popcorn and throws it at Mikey, but Mikey catches most of it in his mouth. “Thanks, dude, I was feeling kind of hungry.”
Raph rolls his eyes again as he nudges Mikey with his foot. “Just shut up and watch the movie ya goofball.”
Mikey settles down and they all fall silent once again. Leo spends the entire rest of the movie trying to imagine doing things like this without Raph, but he can’t. Every time he thinks about it there’s an aching in his chest and all he sees is an empty seat and hollowed out faces. They have to find a way to save their brother, because the alternative is something Leo is absolutely positive none of them can endure.
The End (for now)