Chapter Text
Donnie doesn’t remember many things that happened right after they closed the portal, they don’t remember how they all got an unconscious Leo to the lair (although he assumes Raph carried him), they don't remember how they got home at all, and they most definitely don’t remember their shell hurting as much as it did now. Right now, 3 hours post-invasion, things are looking rough.
Mikey’s arms are extremely burnt and look like 3rd-degree burns, but Donnie hasn’t had the proper amount of time to properly look at them. He also has a concussion. Raphie has been mentally checking out sporadically, her right arm is unusable from the Kraang transformation, and her right eye is either infected or completely inoperable. Leo’s injuries seem to get worse the more he looks at them. His plastron is cracked, which he presumes is from Kraang one beating that ever-loving crap out of him, same goes for his carapace. His skin seemed blacker and bluer than his usual lime green, but surprisingly, the only bone he seemed to have broken was his femur! However, Donnie hasn’t checked for ribs yet, which probably are at least fractured.
Donatello has done at least one check for everyone excluding themself, because they’re the only sibling who can. Their dads, Casey Junior, and April have all been a huge help with everyone’s recovery, they simply brushed them off when they checked if they were injured. They’re starting to regret that decision now. Why’s their shell starting to hurt so bad so suddenly...?
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Raph’s big sister senses are tingling. So is her arm, but she doesn’t give that as big of a priority. Leo has been sleeping since they started to get off Staten Island, but Donnie and Mikey are awake! “’ Ey Donnie, what’re you puttin’ on Mikey’s arms?”
“Good to see you awake, Raphalla. I’m merely putting some burn cream on Michelangelo’s arms. I know you and I got some too. I’ll put some on you and me later. His just seemed more urgent,” Donnie states, sounding utterly exhausted and applying the burn cream to a currently dissociating Mikey.
“Raph only woke up 'cause her big sister senses were tingling. You needa rest a lil’, Donnie,” Raph tells her second youngest sibling. “I know you gotta take care of us, but I also know how you are when you get tired. I’m your big sister, I know you, which comes with knowing when you need to sleep.
“Raphie, you know you and Mikey can’t use either of your arms right now, and currently Leo and everyone else is sleeping. I’m the only one who can take care of you for now.”
“Raph knows, she just wishes you would sleep a lil’, wake dad or April up, sure they’ll undastand!” Raphael smiles genuinely, she truly just wants Donnie to take care of themself, she feels it’s gotten way worse ever since Shredder, and well… S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.
Donnie thinks to themself for a moment before responding. “…Okay, I understand. Let me do Michael’s bandages first and I’ll go wake up April. Will that make you go to sleep some more?”
“I guess that’s the best Raph’ll get. You’d betta get some sleep, I swear Donnie. You gotta promise to me. We both know you haven’t been getting it,” Raph sternly tells Donnie. She may not exactly be the leader anymore, but she is still allowed to boss her little siblings around.
“Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda,” Donnie says playfully, but Raph can hear the lingering exhaustion in their voice, she always can. She could also see it in their eyes. It was the same look that Donnie had whenever they spent too long in their lab working on a project, but somehow worse. This situation probably put more pressure on them, now that their brothers’ lives were on the line. Her heart aches for the softshell as they go back to work on Mikey’s arms.
Once they finish, they head towards the med-bay exit and say something that Raph had been hearing with more frequency from them as of late. “I do love you, Raphie. I’m sorry I don’t say it as often as I probably should, but I do feel like the phrase is needed as of now. I’m glad we got you back,” Donnie immediately leaves as soon as they finished talking. Raph understands, and her heart is warmed by the words anyway.
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The softshell leaves the room, suddenly disliking the fact that they’re a softshell turtle. Their shell is in agony, and they feel light-headed and weak. No, they don’t want to take it off. They’d rather not have to think about the ship right now. They’ll just sleep. Donnie wants to sleep so badly.
Their steps are more like shuffles as they walk down the hall to the living room. Their room is farther away than the couch, and they’re fatigued beyond belief. Once Donnie eventually makes it, they immediately fall face-first over the arm and onto the body of the couch. He groans in pain at impact and then remembers that they needed to wake up April. “April, get up. I’m gonna sleep and someone needs to make sure Leo doesn’t wake up and try to walk out of the room…” They say, still lying on the couch.
April surprisingly wakes up from those words and stretches. “Alright, Donnie. You go to sleep, you’ve earned it. And take your battleshell off! You’ll get bruises on your shoulders and shell.” She leaves for the medbay, trusting that Donatello will listen.
Donatello doesn’t listen. They fall asleep with it still on. They had nightmares of the horrendous texture that the Technodrome made them endure. They didn’t remember it being so hot in there, or shivering like they were freezing to death. They did remember how disgusting the tentacles were. How the Technodrome spoke to them, giving them so much information and just being so gentle and kind and- She was gone. She had exploded from the portal closing, being halfway in there. It was all Donatello’s fault. It was their fault. They felt so guilty. It was their fault, they were terrible. What kind of person would steer someone so pleasant into a certain death? Their shell throbbing with pain wasn’t the issue, they killed someone! They didn’t deserve to seek treatment; they’ll just sleep for now. Endure any problem that comes later, because they’re tired as hell and should rest, goddammit. They’re blissfully ignorant about what will occur when they gain consciousness.
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Raph woke up to April coming in and announcing her arrival, yelling about how Donnie is indeed sleeping and actually taking a break. That made Raph sigh with relief, she was glad that her purple-clad sibling had decided to not be stubborn this time. “Alright, Raphie. Let’s see your eye again, I know it got messed up.” She reaches out for her eye with some rubbing alcohol.
The snapping turtle flinches away from the touch unintentionally. She immediately feels bad for the fact and reverts to her old position. “Hey, Raphie. I know that face. You just went through something awful. I’m your big sister. You can be scared around me, but we do need to check on your eye. We don’t want it to get infected, do we?” April says calmly.
Raph sits there in silence for a moment, but eventually shakes her head. “No, that would probably be even worse-” She chuckles light-heartedly, trying to make the situation a little brighter.
“Good. I’m glad you’ve been accepting help more lately; you’ve been making good progress on it.” April uncovers the bad eye and winces at the graphic sight. She dabs it with hydrogen peroxide, much to Raphael’s discomfort. “Oh, sorry. I know it stings. That means it’s working, to give you a motive to bear it.”
“I know, April.” She smiles at the human, only to hear a thud from somewhere else in the house. “What was that?” Raph’s face adopts that familiar expression of worry while April starts to think.
“That sounded like… metal. Donnie!” She dashes to the living room with Raph following just a hair slower. They arrive to see the softshell on the ground next to the couch tensing their body and relaxing quickly and repeatedly. Their eyes are rolling to the back of their head and tearing up. “Raph, wake Junior, Drax, and Splints up! Donnie’s having a seizure!” She pulls a pillow from the couch and stabilizes their head, so they don’t hit it on the ground during the episode. Splinter rushes over to his child, rubbing their arm when the episode ended.
When Donnie came to, they were on the ground and hurt all over. They whine weakly as they try to sit up, only to be stopped by a familiar hand. “Just lie down, purple. You look and act exhausted. Let us take you to the medbay, my child.” Next thing they know, they get picked up by Raph and carried.
They all make it to the medbay and lay Donatello down on a spare cot. “Donnie, you didn’t take your battleshell off when I told you?!” April exclaims, very frustrated about everything that’s been happening. That’s when she notices blood coming out from under it. “…We have to take it off.”
“Please don’t, it hurts so bad.” Donnie cries tiredly, terribly fatigued from both the seizure and staying up for hours on top of fighting for more. They’re hot to the touch and shivering still.
“Donatello, you’re bleeding. We need to take it off.” Draxum says as he unclasps the battleshell with some struggle and is met with blood and pus and screaming. Raphael covers her mouth in shock and disgust. Draxum puts the shell down and rushes over to the hydrogen peroxide. April starts to console Donnie through the immense pain they’re probably experiencing. Splinter washes his hands to prepare for the stitching he’ll most likely have to do.
Casey Junior just stands there and yells, “Get the needles!”