Chapter Text
“Raph, you’re not even trying! Would you get off your phone?” Mikey huffed as he lapped Raph in Mario Kart. The box turtle may be the best at the game, but the win isn’t as sweet if your opponent isn’t even paying attention.
“Sorry, Mikey…” Raph barely glanced up from his phone. “Hey, have you heard from Donnie? He was supposed to be back an hour ago, and I haven’t gotten a text.”
Mikey used a straight stretch of track as an opportunity to quickly click his phone screen on. One notification from a social media app, but no texts or calls.
“Nah, nothing. He probably just got caught up in grabbing something for a project. You know how he gets when he goes scrapping. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Dee can take care of himself.”
“It’s not that I doubt his abilities, I’d just like a little warning. I worry about you guys. Let me try calling him.”
Raph’s phone buzzed and he almost fumbled it, shoulders dropping a bit when he read the caller ID.
“April! What’s up? Wha- Mikey is, but- Okay?” He held the phone out in between the two turtles, turning his speaker on.
“Donnie’s at my house! Did he call any of you?! Do you know what’s going on!? Did something happen?! Why is he-”
Mikey was glancing between Raph and the phone, both parties seeming to become more panicked as time went on.
“Okay! Calm down April!” Mikey placed a hand on Raph’s shoulder to ground him. “Start from the beginning! What’s going on? And, should I get Leo?”
“Yes! Get Leo! I don’t-” April took a shaky breath. “Here, let me turn on my camera so you can see.” The phone screen flashed to show April’s face for a moment before she turned it. Next to her on the bed, wrapped in several blankets, and what looked to be a heating pad, was Donnie. He was utterly passed out, and April had her hand on his shoulder as if she was worried he’d disappear if she let go.
“IS HE HURT?” Raph burst out, unable to contain his nervous energy any longer. “Donnie?!”
Donnie didn’t even stir.
“I… I don’t think so. I checked him over when I found him and I didn’t see any surface injuries, but he was so cold… and now he won’t wake up… I don’t know what to do!”
“Found him? What do you mean found him? Come on April, we can’t help him if we don’t know the full story.” Having finished texting Leo, Mikey leaned his full body weight into Raph and stuck his face into the camera’s view, keeping his voice level. “Take a breath. We’re gonna figure this out.”
“Right… Right, okay.” April lightly smacked her cheek with her free hand. “Come on April O’Neil. You’ve got this” She took a deep breath. “Alright. About twenty minutes ago, I was doing homework when Donnie texted me. He said he was outside my apartment and that he needed my help but… it was weird. He didn’t bother with proper grammar and punctuation, almost like he was scrambling to get it out. When I got outside he was curled up in the alleyway, shivering. He was sort of awake, I wouldn’t have been able to get him up the fire escape otherwise, but as soon as I got him onto the bed he passed out! I checked him over, as I said, and I’ve just been trying to warm him up.”
“How’s his breathing?” Raph and Mikey jumped at the voice. Leo just leaned over their shoulders, and the lack of a joke or cocky remark told them that Dr. Leonardo was in the house now. It made them tense. “Are his pupils even? And check his pulse.”
April complied, resting her fingers on Donnie’s neck. “His pulse feels a little slow, but his breathing sounds even. I’m not hearing any hitches or crackling. It just feels like… he’s asleep.” Just as she raised her hand to check his eyes, a low whine came from the bundle of blankets, and Donnie retreated farther inside, up to his chin.
“Donnie?!” April, Raph, and Leo all called simultaneously, Leo almost tipping over Raph’s shoulder. Mikey leaned forward, trying to read any body language, which was difficult when he could barely see Donnie’s face, let alone his body.
A mumble sounded from the blanket pile, too quiet to make out over the phone. April leaned closer, trying to hear.
“Sorry, what was that Donnie? Are you alright?” The mumble came a bit louder this time. “C-cold? Your battle shell is cold? Do you want me to take it off? I wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable-”
Donnie just whined and shifted. April glanced at the camera, but none of the brothers knew what to do.
“Alright… I can take it off, Donnie, but I need you to come out so I can reach it.”
There was a long pause, and the group was starting to think Donnie had fallen asleep again. But slowly, he wriggled out of the blankets. He looked like he was struggling to hold his head up, and his eyelids kept fluttering shut, but he successfully sat up and turned his back to April. No sooner had she released his battle shell and set it on the floor than he wrapped the blankets and heating pad around himself and fell backward, curling back on April’s lap with a contented sigh. Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Try and keep him awake Apes. I’m gonna grab my sword. We’re on our way.”
“Do you really think we’re gonna need our weapons?” Mikey tore his eyes away from the screen. The best he could read from Donnie was that he was tired, but felt safe with April.
“No, nothing like that little bro. I just don’t want to walk there!” But Leo paused, seeming to notice the concern in Mikey’s voice. “I think I know what’s going on, but I want to be sure before I say anything.” He smiled, and it was warm and genuine. Nothing like his signature smirk. Honest. “Don’t worry. I don’t think it’s something all that bad. He’ll be up and kicking again in no time!”
---
April was anticipating the flash of blue, but she still jumped as it appeared out of nowhere. Donnie only responded by screwing his eyes tighter and tucking his head into his shell.
Raph was immediately at her bedside, reaching as if to take their little brother, but paused, not knowing how Donnie would respond. He settled for resting a hand on the several blankets covering Donnie.
Mikey sat on the other side, keeping an eye on the softshell, to allow Leo to sit in front of April.
The slider pulled his gloves off, then went to take Donnie’s hand to check his pulse. Donnie hissed and whipped his hand fully under the blanket, before Leo could get a grip, curling in tighter.
“Hey, Don. I know you’re probably feeling really cold and tired right now, but I just need to give you a quick checkup, okay? Just to calm the team’s nerves. We just want to make sure you’re alright.” Leo kept his voice low. No matter how many times April saw Medic Mode, it never failed to surprise her, the loud and boisterous turtle so serious and straightforward.
There was another long stretch of silence, and Leo opened his beak to speak again, but instead, Donnie let out a quiet whine and stretched his head back out of his shell. He still looked exhausted, but he was succeeding in keeping his eyes open at least.
“...Leo?” Donnie’s face twisted a bit. “‘M tired.” Leo cracked a grin.
“Yeah, I know bud. You’ll be able to sleep in a second. I just want to make sure there’s nothing serious going on. Are you hurting anywhere? Feel nauseous?”
Donnie slowly shook his head, then plopped it on April’s lap, as if the movement had taken all his energy.
“Jus’ tired.”
“Alright. Can I check your pulse? You can stick your arm back in as soon as I’m done.”
With a heavy sigh, Donnie closed his eyes and relinquished his arm. Leo was quick and efficient, and jotted something down on his phone.
“Okay Donnie, just one more thing. I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Then you can take a nap. Can you keep your eyes open yourself, or do you need me to do it for you?”
Donnie grumbled, but managed to look up at Leo as the slider pulled a small flashlight out of his pouch and checked Donnie’s pupils.
“Great! You’re in the clear, Sleepytello!” The release of tension in Leo’s shoulders was obvious to anyone watching, but nobody mentioned it. They were all relieved. “Go ahead and warm up, and take a nap. Doctor’s orders.” With a smooth motion, Leo twirled the flashlight and stuck it back in the pouch. He gave Donnie’s cheek a pat as he went to turn away, but Donnie grabbed his arm and held it against his face.
“Uh… Donnie?” Leo tried to tug his arm away, but Donnie seemed unwilling to relent. Nobody knew what to do. Leo was often the last person Donnie wanted physical affection from.
Not knowing what else to do, Leo softened his hand, just allowing it to rest where Donnie held it. The softshell slowly began to release his hold, gripping hard again when Leo started to pull away. Leo softened once more, and this time kept his hand still as Donnie tucked his own arm under the blankets. There was a moment of silence, and as soon as Donnie seemed to be satisfied that Leo wasn’t going anywhere, he settled back down with his eyes closed, and then chirped.
The entire room was taken aback. Raph, Leo, and Mikey occasionally slipped back into their own little language, but Donnie almost never did. He liked to feel smart, and speaking human languages helped with that. And even ignoring that, the siblings almost never spoke turtle around April. While she could pick out basic intent, the specifics never clicked for her, and they all liked being able to understand each other. Especially Donnie.
The upright turtles shot glances at each other, then Mikey leaned forward and chirped at Donnie. The best April could make out was that it was a question.
Donnie chirped again, and then, even more out of character, purred. Shifting a little, his voice faded to silence. His breathing indicated that he was asleep.
“What-” Mikey started before Leo cut him off with a loud laugh. He clapped a hand over his beak, trying to keep his voice down.
“Leo! Now isn’t the time! What’s going on?” Raph snapped.
“Sorry, sorry.” He managed to reign his laugh and allowed his signature smirk to fall back over his face. “The good news is, Donnie’s gonna be fine.”
April narrowed her eyes. Leo’s mouth was pulling at the corner. Subtle enough that if she hadn’t known him for years, she wouldn’t have noticed.
“But?”
“But…” Leo scrolled through his phone, looking for something. “I’m pretty sure he’s gone into brumation. Or at least, some sort of semi-brumation.”
“Brumation? Why would he be going into brumation? We’ve never had an issue with that before!” Raph looked horrified, inspecting his own hands, then squinting at Leo and Mikey as if he was worried they’d keel over at any second. April and Leo both opened their mouths at the same time, but April beat him to the punch.
“If I had to guess… A cold front blew over today. And he was outside in just his gear. He probably just got cold and his body thought it was time to brumate.”
Leo nodded, still scrolling through his phone.
“We've always had warm clothes and time to acclimate to the weather before we start spending extended periods of time in it. Our human DNA is probably what lets us do that. Donnie didn't get that chance this time. He should be fine if we keep him warm and just let his body run its course. I’d like to keep an eye on him though. I’m not sure how this is going to affect us with our human DNA and all.”
“So.. that’s it then,” Raph sighed. “We just wait?”
“Pretty much! Until then, we’ve just got a pancake of a brother!” That earned Leo a Look. “What? You’re going to look at him and tell me he doesn’t look like a pancake?” Raph only rolled his eyes.
“Hey Mikey, you know where all the best blankets and heating lamps are in the layer, right? Why don’t you head out in front of us and get started on building a nest? We can all turtle pile in the living room tonight.”
“But-”
“I promise we’ve got him, big man. We’ll be right after you. You’ll be the first to know if anything happens.”
Mikey spared one last glance at Donnie, then hopped off the bed and nodded to Leo. The slider struggled to pull his sword out with his off-hand, but managed to carve a portal open.
“Alright, let's get this guy home.”
“Do you guys need any help?” April questioned.
“Nah, we’ve got him. Thanks though ‘Pril. I dunno what we woulda done without you.” Raph scooped Donnie up, blankets and all. Donnie’s face scrunched at the sudden movement, but when he was held against Raph’s plastron, he sighed and settled again, seemingly content. “We’ll uh… return your blankets as soon as we get him settled. I don’t wanna wake him up by taking them off here. Leo, grab his bo and shell, would you?” Raph headed through the portal with a determined air, now having something to latch onto to do.
Leo shot a smirk at April.
“Thanks, April! See you tomorrow!” He let himself fall backwards through the portal, bo and battle shell in tow.
---
About ten minutes later, April looked up from her desk at the sound of a portal. It was small, and just opened over her bed. All of her blankets, perfectly folded, fell through into a pile. The heating pad followed a second later before the blue faded with a pop.
A ping sounded, and April checked her phone. A new picture message from Mikey showed Donnie buried so deeply in a blanket pile that she could barely see his head, surrounded on both sides by Leo and Raph. The snapper was already out, but Leo had thrown up a peace sign for the picture.
April smiled. Her little brother was going to be okay.