Casey’s mother had agreed to stay at the apartment to watch the twins while he and April drove Splinter and Sliver to Foot headquarters. It was safer for them to be driven than it was for them to traverse the sewers. Aside from that, both Casey and April wanted to see the Turtles as desperately as Splinter and Sliver did.
Sliver was visibly anxious, being the first time her and her daughters have been separated for so long. Splinter could remember the first time he had feared losing his sons. Over the years he had learned not to let those fears affect him as much, but they were still there. On the outside he appeared to be calm but he was just as anxious as she was.
Casey knew where to park the van without needing direction, he had done it often enough. A fact that none of them enjoyed, given the reasons for the visits.
They were met by a Foot soldier, named Haru, who, over the years, Splinter had come to know well and had even given him a few pointers from time to time. Haru led them through the building to where the girls were waiting for them.
“Girls!” Sliver raced down the hall towards her daughters. “Are you all alright?”
As soon as she reached them she started looking each of them over. She lingered a little longer on Rachael, gently caressing the fading bruise on her cheek.
“I was one of the last to go down,” Rachael said, forcing a smile. “I didn’t make it easy for them. I think I broke a few noses.”
“You are so brave.” Sliver smiled at her and then turned her attention to Donna. “What were you thinking, running off with Raphael like that? Out of the four of you, you were the one I lest expected to do something so foolish.”
Donna stared intently at the ground and shrugged. “He begged me not to tell anyone. I just wanted to help him. I was afraid that if I had said anything, he would never forgive me.” Her voice ended with a squeak as she rubbed her eyes.
“Love can make even the smartest of people do foolish things,” Sliver said and kissed the top of Donna’s head. “All that matters now is that you are all safe. Everything will work out.”
“Where are the boys,” Splinter asked.
“In with Raph,” Leah answered. “They refuse to leave him. Tello’s still in recovery. The doctors aren’t allowing us anywhere near him.” Her eyes started to fill with tears. “They want to keep his environment as stress free as possible until the drugs Bishop gave him are out of his system.”
“Dr. Chaplin and his team are more than capable of helping Tello,” Splinter soothed. “You will be able to see him again soon enough.”
“Bishop is a horrible man.” Michelle had her arms crossed and tears in her eyes as she struggled to keep from crying. “Because of him, I’m gonna have babies too. He violated Mikey and me.”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Sliver soothed, allowing Michelle to press her face against her shoulder and cry. “You won’t have to do any of it alone. I will help you through this.”
“It’s not fair,” Michelle whimpered. “We haven’t had sex and now we’re gonna have babies.”
“That’s easily fixed,” Rachael stated.
“That’s not the point,” Leah said, glaring at her sister.
“What about Leatherhead, Snow, and the baby,” April asked. “Where are they?”
“The kids are napping in the set of rooms Karai’s given us,” Rachael said. “I can take you there.”
“We’ll all go,” Sliver said. “Now that I know that you’re safe, the days of worrying has caught up to me. I need to rest.”
“I am going to find my sons,” Splinter said. He knew he would not be able to rest until he saw them.
Sliver nodded her understanding and kissed his cheek. “We’ll see you in the rooms later.”
Haru led Splinter deeper into the compound to the most secure areas. He had been in the area more often than he would have liked and didn’t need an escort but he was grateful that both were available.
“They are in here,” Haru said, stopping at a door. “If you need anything, call.”
“Thank you,” Splinter said and waited for Haru to depart before opening the door.
The dimly lit room was several degrees cooler and the only sound was Raphael’s heavy, raspy breathing. Like Sliver, Splinter was compelled to look each of his children over, taking note of each new scar. They all had too many.
The relief of seeing them allowed him to relax enough for exhaustion to set in. Leonardo was up in an instant, offering his seat to his father. “He hasn’t been responding to us but you can try.”
Raphael was awake but kept his eye closed and his face turned away. The occasional full body shiver would overcome him, hitching his breath. He was tolerating his brothers but only because he lacked the energy to kick them out or leave himself.
Splinter sat down in the chair closest to Raph’s head while Leonardo moved to occupy another. “How is your baby,” Splinter asked Donatello as he placed his hand over Raph’s. “I haven’t had the chance to see it yet.”
“He’s doing well,” Donatello replied with a soft smile. “I named him Galileo. I’ll take you to meet him later.”
“He looks like a snapping turtle,” Mikey added. “Massive underbite. Still cute though.”
“I look forward to seeing him,” Splinter said. “I am glad you are all okay. You have all been through so much.” Leaning in close to Raphael, Splinter whispered, “I am sorry.”
Raphael’s breathing pattern changed as he struggled to control his emotions.
“Maybe if I had done things differently,” Splinter continued, “you wouldn’t have hidden the fact that you were still taking the medication. I should have known but I misread you. I had believed the shift in your behavior was because of the girls.”
“Don’t…,” Raphael cried, covering his face with his free hand. “I don’t deserve…. I keep fucking up, putting the family in danger. This is all my fault. Everything.”
“Not everything. Our being caught by Bishop had nothing to do with you,” Donny soothed. “We left the lair because I need medical attention.”
“We’ve all made mistakes. I was foolish enough to fall for their trap,” Leo added. “I was the first one to go down.”
“This is true,” Mikey added with a nod.
“It’s still my fault,” Raph argued.
“How is it your fault,” Leo prompted. “You weren’t even there, and if you had been, the results would have been the same. Only, you’d be sporting a few more bruises.”
“You wouldn’t have been on the road if you had already been here,” Raph said, still unable to look at them. “It’s because of me, that we’re not.”
“Raph…,” Leo started but Raph interrupted him.
“Not anymore.” With his hand still covering his face, Raph shook his head. “It would be best for everyone if you took Karai’s offer and joined her.” Raph let out an agonizing moan as a full body tremor overcame him.
“We’ll discuss it further when you’re better, as a family,” Leo insisted. “We’re not making any decisions right now.”
“You know I’m right,” Raph said, bringing his fist down to hit the bed. “Besides, you, Mikey, and Tello are about to be fathers. It’d be safer for your kids, and Don’s, to be here.”
Splinter squeezed Raph’s hand and placed his other one on Raph’s head. “I can sense that there is more behind your decision than you are telling us.”
“I don’t want to be in anyone’s way anymore,” Raph said.
“You’re not in the way, Raph,” Mikey soothed, reaching up to pat Raph’s leg. “We want you around. And, we all understood why you didn’t want to join Karai. None of us hold that against you.”
“I think he’s talking about Donna,” Donny said.
“How are you in her way,” Mikey asked.
“She deserves to be happy,” Raph mumbled. “There are plenty of guys she can choose from here.”
“She loves you,” Donny pointed out.
Raph shook his head and brought his hand back up to cover his face. “I really fucked up.”
“You deserve to be happy too, Raph,” Donny insisted. “And, you have so much to offer. She loves you.”
“That’s not what’s important right now,” Raph said. “With me like this, Tello as he is, and Don weakened by surgery, we’re vulnerable. We need the Foot to help keep us safe and to help fight Hun. He’s not gonna wait for us to get better. Fuck. We’re here all the time anyway. Might as well move in.”
“He’s got a point,” Mikey said, leaning back in his chair. “We travel here often and we do have kids on the way that we need to think about.”
“Having the Foot’s resources at our fingertips would go a long way in our efforts to take down Hun,” Donny added.
“I’ll talk to Karai,” Leo said. “Work things out.”
“That will be a short conversation,” Mikey said with a smile. “You tell her we’re ready to join her and she’ll reply with, ‘It’s about damn time. We’ll help you move your stuff’.”
Splinter held Raph’s hand and place his other on Raph’s shoulder. “Why won’t you look at us?”
“I can’t,” Raph choked out.
“What do you expect to see that has you unable to look,” Splinter asked.
“Pity,” Raph said. “Disappointment. The pain I caused.”
“Look at me,” Splinter pleaded.
Crying, Raph kept his hand over his face and shook his head. “I’m too ashamed.”
Reaching up, Splinter caressed the back of Raph’s head. “I love you. I will always love you.”
“We all do,” Donny added.
“I lied to you,” Raph argued, his voice going up in pitch. “I told you that I stopped taking the pills because I was eager to get out of the lair. If I had been more patient with my recovery….”
Reaching out, Splinter cupped Raph’s cheek and gently guided him to turn his head. “Look at me.”
Raphael didn’t fight him but kept his eye looking down to avoid looking at his father.
“Look at me,” Splinter urged once again.
Hesitantly, Raphael looked up. His eye locked with Splinter’s for a moment before he broke down in a fit of sobs. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how any of you will ever trust me again.”
“I will admit,” Splinter said as he brushed Raph’s tears away, “That we will be watching you more closely, for a while, but that’s because we know that this addiction will take time to fully overcome. We want to help you beat it.”
“I really fucked up.”
“We will get through this,” Splinter soothed. “Together.”
