Chapter Text
The van came to a rough, halting stop, Casey Jones winced at the jolt from behind the wheel. Casey was never the best driver, and typically, Raph would have cussed him out- telling him he needed to learn how to drive, but he had other worries that led him elsewhere. His mind couldn’t falter away from the unconscious body in the back seat of the van, because that was his brother. Sure, they had fought like siblings usually did, probably even more than what was officially called normal. The two bantered like crazy, always thinking they knew what was best and tried their hardest to prove the other wrong. Raph never would have even thought of this happening to Leonardo. No, the lot of them weren’t normal- they were talking ninja turtles for crying out loud- but Leo was just a teenager, like him. This shouldn’t be happening to someone so young, because .. Raph was truly afraid that Leo may not push through this one.
April and Donnie jumped out of the van first, both running up the grassy hill to the front door of April’s farmhouse. Donnie had mentioned something about putting Leo in the bathtub and went to get that ready. Casey and Mikey were next, helping lift Leo back on Raph’s back to carry him out. They walked slowly, but carefully. Mikey quickly slammed the van doors behind them then trotted close to Raph’s side. Casey stayed behind him, ready to catch Leo in case he started to slip off. The house was big, bigger than he thought it would be. Their whole situation still rubbed Raph the wrong way. They belonged in the sewers, deep underground with Master Splinter by their side. Now both were gone, their father, their home. They failed New York, and what did they do? Ran. Fled with their tails tucked in between their legs. At least they could properly care for Leo without having to worry about the Krang hunting them down, but he felt like a coward.
Leo wasn’t heavy at all on his back, Raph could probably carry two more Leo sized wights and still not break a sweat, but here- Raph was being so careful, it seemed to have taken them ten minutes just to get up the hill. They eventually reached the wooden door, already left open by April and Donnie who were somewhere in the house filling up a bathtub.
“We’re in! April? Donnie?” He yelled, head turning around on a swivel as he waited to hear their voices. The environment was unfamiliar.. uncomfortable. He hated the fact he didn’t know where anything was. April knew though, she grew up here. He had to at least give her a small bit of faith.
April’s voice wasn’t too long behind Raph’s, coming from above them rather than to the side. “Upstairs! We have first aid up here too.” Good. Looks like Donnie was already at work with doctoring. He was relieved to see his other two brothers not missing a beat for Leo. Even Mikey was being uncharacteristically quiet, but that made him more gloomy than anything else. This wasn’t like any other injury the turtles may have gotten on missions and training. This was just serious. Potentially life threatening. Raph’s heart pounded at the thought.
Raph made his way to climb the stairs. Mikey was in front of him, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. Casey was doing what he could to lighten the weight on his back by propping Leo up. Together, they made it up the narrow steps with surprising ease. April was in the hallway, urging them to follow her to the bathroom. Donnie was already in there, checking the temperature of the water. Wraps and gauze and medical equipment were splayed all over the counter.
April assisted this time in lifting Leo off of Raph and into the tub. They placed him in, Raph holding underneath his shoulders to make sure he didn’t hit anything. The water covered his body, his head rested on the bottom edge of the tub. Once he was safely secured inside, Raph leaned down to untie his blue mask off his face along with his other ninja equipment. He looked strange there, bare and completely unconscious. It didn’t cease to send pangs of panic and fear in Raph’s gut, but he knew he wasn’t the only one.
Donnie rested his hand on the side of the tub, eyes scanning Leo’s every inch. Raph could see the hesitation in his eyes, as if he didn’t know where to start in analyzing all of Leo’s injuries. “This will keep him hydrated.. help him heal faster.” He said, eyes lingering over Leo for another second before he turned to gather some equipment. He came back and went to work. “Other than the multiple bruises that cover practically every part of his body, the areas with the most damage are his neck, right knee, and cracked carapace.” Donnie was right. Leo’s neck looked the most bruised, purple and black mixing together along his skin. “His right knee sustained a major fracture and torn ligaments. Having both those injuries at once- well it may take months to heal properly.” It was impossible not to hear the concern in Donnie’s voice. The purple ninja sighed, head shaking a bit as he took a step back. Raph’s attention was brought to him, brows furrowing.
“What? Aren’t you going to do more than just that?” Raph demanded, fists clenching at his sides. “You barely did anything!” Raph couldn’t help but let out some of his pent up rage he had been holding in for a while now. The whole situation was nothing but stressful. Donnie was smart, but he wasn’t a doctor, and that’s what Leo really needs right now. There was no way they could truly get Leo the correct help he needed. He didn’t even know how this happened to Leo in the first place, that’s what really made Raph sick. He was all alone, defending himself, but who was he fighting? Who could have done this?
Donnie seemed uneasy as Raph snapped, perhaps guilty too. Raph remembered how the two were fighting before the invasion started, each having their own separate ideas to go about the danger. Of course Donnie would feel guilty, and it only made Raph feel more bad that he raised his voice. “There’s really nothing else I can do. There isn’t much supplies here, nothing good enough to drastically help his healing process. We just have to wait .. till he wakes up.” The pitch in his voice went low. He sounded unsure.
“You’re right, Donnie. I’m just frustrated. I’m.. mad at all of this, that we can’t do more.” Raph could feel the tension in his arms as he balled his fists up tighter.
Donnie cleared his throat, trying to talk to Raph who had his shell facing him, eyes downcast on Leo. “Well, there are a lot of things we need to do to make this house liveable, but I think it’s wise we have someone keep on Leo watch, just in case..”
“It’s okay, Donnie. I’m staying to watch him.” He replied over his shoulder, saying so without any hesitation. All he wanted to do was stay by his brother’s side. He had promised he would always be there to support him, right? He wanted to be the one to be there when Leo finally came around. Raph’s mind danced on the word ‘when’, because was he really that certain Leo would actually make it out of this? Donnie had mentioned ‘if’ Leo would wake back in the van, and the thought made his spine shudder.
He listened as the others quietly shuffled out of the room, their footsteps now echoed as they walked down the stairs. He grabbed a stool next to the sink and brought it over near the tub, sitting down and hunching forwards. He rested his elbows on his knees, yawning. It was getting late, but the idea of sleeping was off the table for Raph, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to even if he tried. He put a hand to his head, holding back a sob as it burned to escape through his throat. He was so tired.