Raph’s cries of pain could be heard echoing down the hall. Leonardo and his brothers waited for news while their father and the Justice Force doctors assisted Raph with the delivery. The biggest concern was that Raph had not had adequate time to heal and there was a risk of popping the stiches.
The whole situation had Leonardo battling conflicting emotions. He was excited about being a father but he worried about what it was doing to Raph psychologically. He did not like being seen as weak.
Time seemed to creep by and with every passing second Leo prayed that Raph’s physical pain would end so they could get to work healing him emotionally.
The yelling stopped and Leo held his breath, expecting it to start up again at any minute. It wouldn’t have been the first time there was a lull. When he heard the sound of the door opening, he stood and looked down the long hallway.
One of the doctors wheeled a cart into another room, followed by another. It was done, but still, Leo waited. It wasn’t until Splinter stepped out of the room and signaled for him, did Leo dare to head towards the room.
“Is he okay?” Leo asked as he approached his father.
“He managed to deliver the eggs without issue,” Splinter replied. “However, I would not go so far as to say that he is okay. Your brother’s mind is a torrent of emotions. He will not talk to me. He won’t even look at me and he pulls away when I try to touch him.”
Leo looked past his father, into the room. “Can I go in and talk to him?”
Splinter’s ears flattened as he let out a soft sigh. “You can try. I will leave you two alone.”
“Thank you,” Leo said, keeping his eyes fixed on Raph.
He waited for his father to leave before slowly making his way into the room. Raph was lying in bed in a slightly elevated position, looking up at nothing. He looked beaten both physically and emotionally.
Leo inched his way closer to his brother, fighting the urge to reach out to him. “Raph?”
“Go away,” Raph mumbled, without looking over.
Leo wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “I know this is hard for you….”
Turning his head, Raph glared at Leo. “Go away!”
“Please,” Leonardo said, struggling to fight back tears. “Don’t push me away. I love you.”
“I don’t,” Raph choked out, turning his head to once again look at the ceiling. “Leave me alone.”
Leo’s heart broke. Things were finally starting to work between him and Raph. He didn’t want to lose what they had. “What do I have to do to fix this?”
“Make it all go away,” Raph replied as tears ran down his cheeks. “Make them all forget. Wake me up from this nightmare. I don’t want to be this anymore.”
“I can’t undo what’s happened,” Leo said, taking a few deep breaths to keep his voice steady. “If I could, I would go back in time and prevent this from happening. But, what would you have me do? Break the eggs? End the lives of our children all because you’re ashamed and afraid of what people are gonna think of you? I can’t do that and I know that, despite the way you’re feeling right now, you wouldn’t want that either.”
Raph rolled on his side, turning away from Leo and signaling that their conversation was over. From the way he moved, it was plan to see that he was in a great deal of pain.
Knowing that he wasn’t going to get any further with Raph, Leo backed out of the room. “Okay. I’ll give you some space. Just… I want you to know that I’m not giving up on us. I love you.”
Raph stayed silent.
With a heavy heart, Leo walked out of the room and headed down the hall to where the doctors had taken the eggs. Mikey rushed up to him the moment he entered the room.
“The doctors say that three of the eggs have heartbeats inside and that one is most likely a dud but they are keeping it in the incubator just in case.”
“He was adamant about being the one to tell you all of that,” Donny said as he approached. “I think he’s more excited than you are.”
“What’s not to be excited about?” Mikey said with a huge grin. “I’m gonna have nibbles.”
Pinching the bridge between his eyes, Donny let out a groan. “Niblings, Mikey. The word you are looking for is niblings.”
Despite his breaking heart, Leo laughed at his brothers’ antics. They continued to banter back and forth like an old married couple while Leo made his way to the eggs. They were smaller than he had expected. Tentatively, he reached out to run his fingers along the surface of one. It was warm.
“This is really happening,” he mumbled to himself. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that he would have children of his own. He was overwhelmed, unsure how to feel and unable to fully process it. It was all happening so fast.
“There are things we must consider,” Splinter stated, coming up to stand next to Leo. “I was fortunate when we were mutated because you and your brothers were no longer infants. Babies are considerably more difficult and there are several things we will need to be able to care for them.”
“Not to mention that their immune systems will be weak,” Donny pointed out. “And we live in the sewers.”
“Too bad we can’t stay here,” Mikey said. “They have everything and it’s clean.”
“Why can’t we stay here,” Donny pointed out. “The Justice Force has offered us a spot on the team before. I’m sure that offer still stands. We’ll have medical care for the babies and a protected place to raise them.”
When the Silver Sentry had originally offered for them to join the team, their lives were completely different. They were fine living on their own. But, now? They needed the help. Leonardo turned to his father. “What do you think?”
“I think your brothers make a good argument,” Splinter replied.
Leo nodded his head. “I will discuss it with Silver Sentry.”
One of the doctors stepped into the room and looked around. “Oh dear.”
“What is the matter?” Splinter asked.
The doctor’s eyes searched the room one more time before he looked up at Splinter. “I went in to check on Raphael and discovered that he was not in his room. I came in here to see if he might have come to look at the eggs, but now I see… that… he has… not.”
Leo felt a surge of panic but managed to keep his composure. “Raph’s not in his room?”
The doctor shook his head. “No.”
“Do you think he’s run off,” Mikey gave voice to everyone’s fears.
“Maybe he hasn’t gotten far.” Leo bolted from the room. “Spread out and search.”
Leo started in the room where Raph was supposed to be recovering, scanning for any sign of how Raph had left. The window was solid and unable to open and the ventilation system was too narrow for Raph to crawl through. Just in case, Leo searched the room to make sure Raph wasn’t hiding somewhere inside. Those options were limited due to the fact that the room was sparsely furnished.
After he was sure Raph was indeed no longer in the room. Leo raced towards the nearest exit. He passed Silver Sentry along the way. “Scan the building,” Leo said, pausing briefly. “Make sure Raph isn’t hiding somewhere inside. I’ll search outside.”
“I will help you in every way that I can,” Silver Sentry promised as Leo continued running down the hall.
They searched until sun up but, despite his injuries, Raphael had managed to give them the slip. The city was big, and he could have been anywhere. He was lost to them. Physically and emotionally drained, Leonardo dropped to his knees and wept the moment he returned to the Justice Force headquarters.
Michelangelo was by his side in an instant, offering support by simply holding him. There were no words that could be said that would soothe his pain.
“I am so sorry,” Silver Sentry said.
“Help him,” Splinter said to Donny.
Donatello soon joined Mikey at Leo’s side and together they helped their brother too his feet. They led him to a room and helped him into the bed. Donny offered a reassuring smile before he turned to leave, but Leo could see the sorrow in his eyes.
Raphael had a tendency to run off when he was upset but he usually made a big announcement of it. This time was different. He slipped away without a sound. There was a sinking feeling in Leo’s gut that told him that Raph wasn’t going to be coming back.
