Work Text:
Cold compress / infection / “I don’t feel so good.”
“What about Boba?” Donnie looked over to one of his companions as they showed him a nearby place on google. “This place has some good ratings.”
“I’m down.” Donnie agreed. “Good find.”
The other boy smiled. “Thanks!” and stepped a little ahead of the other three members of the group.
There were four of them there total. Donnie, Timothy, the one that found the place, Kendra on his right, and Kirby on her right. They were walking around the city after their tech club meeting.
“I hope they have popping boba.” Kirby said, and Kendra shrugged.
“I don’t care what they have as long as there's a matcha option.” Kendra huffed.
“What’re you wanting, Donnie?” Timothy asked.
Donnie thought for a moment, pulling up the place on his own phone. “This hokkaido black tea blend looks really good.”
“I think I've tried it before, it’s really sweet.” Kirby said.
The four continued walking and talking, finding their topic had strayed all the way to allergies by the time they got to the shop.
“You really can’t have chocolate?” Timothy asked, looking at Donnie with his signature puppy dog eyes that rivaled mikey. “That’s so sad!”
Donnie shrugged. “Well, humans are one of very few animals that can digest chocolate properly without being poisoned.”
“So your turtle side won on that?” Kirby teased.
Donnie laughed. “Yeah, something like that. Luckily, unlike normal turtles, I can have processed sugars and corn syrup, just not chocolate.”
“That sucks.” Kendra stepped up to the counter first, ordering her drink, followed by Timothy, then Kirby. Donnie ordered last, getting the Hokkaido he’d wanted to try.
They got their drinks then continued to wander around the city, stopping at a hotdog stand. Both human boys got just one that they immediately ate. Donnie got one, then a few to-go, and Kendra just got one to-go. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering and talking, primarily at central park.
Once they called it a night, they all left in different directions, Kirby going to walk Kendra home, and Donnie slipping into the sewers.
He made it back to the lair by nightfall and passed out the hotdogs he’d gotten for his brothers.
Then he found an extra one he hadn’t bought. He figured Kendra had accidentally left it, since it was labeled differently. He texted her, but she told him to have it and don’t worry about it. It was just a hotdog afterall.
He ate it, and didn’t like it too much, having a sort of bitter taste to it that wasn’t like the one from earlier. He shrugged it off as the sauerkraut and pickles on it, and finished it anyway. He felt bad about it going to waste.
He sat down with his brothers and cousins for a game, but wasn’t really able to focus. He was drained and tired, and his arms and legs were achy.
About halfway through the game, he huffed. “I’m going to hit the sack early tonight, guys.”
He stood up and walked out of the room, unaware of the strange looks he was getting from his family.
Once he’d laid down, despite the exhaustion, he felt restless. He tossed and turned for a bit, trying to rub a newfound stiffness out of his jaw for a while.
A stabbing pain shot up his leg and he gasped, trying to massage the spasm in it. What had he done that made him so sore like this? He thought about it, but that day hadn’t been extremely strenuous. The most he’d done was walking around with his friends.
Another spasm ripped through his shoulder, and Donnie cried out, curling in on himself.
Something was wrong. He didn’t feel so good.
It was getting harder to breathe, and all of his limbs felt stiff, like he couldn’t move them. He clenched his eyes shut, as more spasms spread through his arms and legs.
What was happening?
“Donnie?” he pried his eyes back open to see Leo crouched by him, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Donnie couldn’t move his jaw, it was clamped firmly shut.
Leo rubbed his arm a bit, Mikey showing up behind him. “Is he having a nightmare?”
“No, he’s awake… I think.” Leo told Raph to go get Splinter, then he scooted closer, pulling Donnie up into his arms. “Hang on, we’re getting help.”
Donnie pressed his snout to Leo’s collarbone with a whine. Leo held him tighter, humming.
“You’re burning up.” he noted.
“Donatello!” Splinter entered the room, and Donnie glanced over to him, realizing the room was spinning.
The rat came over, worriedly checking over his son.
“He is not hurt, what is happening?” Splinter asked, looking at Leo.
“How would I know?” Leo stressed.
Donnie cried out as another spasm shot through his thigh, snapping both of their attentions to him.
Leo startled, holding him tighter. “Dad, what do we do?”
“Oh for pete’s sake!” Wingnut was there too, bouncing anxiously behind Splinter. “Ya got to take him to the hospital!”
“Right.” Leo nodded, trying to stand up with Donnie, but he wasn’t in the proper position to. Raph pushed Splinter to the side and scooped Donnie up instead.
The change in position made Donnie’s head spin and his vision go black.
~~~
“Donnie?” Leo stood up quickly, watching the youngest turtle go mostly limp in Raphs arms. “Don!” He cupped his cheek, patting it. “Wake up!”
Donnie didn’t, and Raph seemed to full-on freeze.
Leo snapped his fingers to the side of Raph’s head. “Hey, Raph, we need to go.”
Raph blinked, looking at Leo, then Donnie, then back to Leo with a firm nod. “Right, let’s go.”
They practically ran through the sewers, Leo dialing the nearest emergency room to let them know they were coming. They were a bit confused, and he had to elaborate that they were the same turtle mutants from the news a few months ago. Once they got there, there was a group of doctors (and a hastily gathered veterinarian) there to whisk Donnie away.
And then Leo was just standing there, not really alone, but feeling like it and staring at the door his little brother had disappeared through.
Splinter seemed to know what to do from there, sitting Leo down in the lobby to wait for any news of the hurt turtle's condition.
After nearly four hours, the doctor came over.
Leo stood up first. “How is he?”
The Doctor smiled softly. “He is stable. He’ll recover just fine.”
The group released a sigh of relief. Then Splinter spoke up. “What happened?”
“He ingested a poison called strychnine in a larger amount than most humans can survive from.” he clasped his hands together. “Luckily, it seems you four have stronger immune systems than most humans. He’ll have some kidney problems and a fever for a while, so I recommend cold compresses behind his neck. He may be a little more prone to infection as well. So try not to let him get hurt.”
“Of course. Thank you doctor.” Splinter stepped up to him and shook his hand. “When can we take him home?”
“We’d like to keep an eye on him overnight, if possible.” the doctor said. “Just to be sure his kidneys don’t fail. Strychnine can be fatal usually through kidney failure or respiratory failure.”
Splinter nodded. “Do whatever you need.”
Leo shifted from foot to foot anxiously. “Can we see him?”
The Doctor nodded. “You can, briefly, to say goodnight. One of you can stay overnight.”
The group followed him back to Donnie’s room where he was hooked up to an IV and a nasal cannula (or nose tube as Mikey called it). He was still asleep, but the group was allowed to come in and say goodnight, as promised.
Leo, Raph, and Mikey all wanted to stay, and after some debate, it was decided that Leo should, since he would be the first to (anxiously) call them if anything went wrong.
Leo didn’t have to call them for any emergencies, but he didn’t get much sleep.
He wasn’t sure if he would for a while, not with someone out there, trying to poison his brother.
Just how much trouble could saving the world get them into?