Of all the things that Splinter had learned to do, swimming was never one of them. As a young boy he witnessed someone swept away by a rip tide. One moment the man was there and the next moment he was gone. They found his body three days later. After that day, Splinter stayed away from the water.
As his newly adopted sons hibernated through their first winter, Splinter was fortunate to find the abandoned subway station with a pool of fresh water. There was one less thing to worry about but at the same time there was also an underlying fear. He did not want to lose one of his newly adopted sons to its depths.
After they woke up, any time one of them got too close he would swat at their legs with his tail. He hated being so heavy handed with them but they needed to learn. If they ever wanted a drink, they had to ask for one. If they tried to get one themselves they ended up with a sore backside and a timeout on the blanket.
Though he was vigilant with his sons he could not watch them at all times. They got into trouble and got themselves hurt. Leonardo was even once almost lost to another dimension. Splinter did the best he could to keep them safe but sometimes he wondered if he did enough.
Splinter had just finished assisting Leonardo in the bathroom and came out to see that Donatello was sitting on the floor, crying and clutching his knee. Raphael was curled up under one of the end tables, hiding because he knew he was in trouble. Tears streaked down Donatello’s cheeks as blood streaked down his leg. Anytime there was broken skin, Splinter feared the need for stitches he couldn’t give or an infection he didn’t have the medicine to fight.
He would have to deal with Raphael later. First he had to clean Donatello’s wound. He just prayed that there was no damage beyond the cut and that it wasn’t too deep. Lifting Donatello in his arms, Splinter then gathered a bucket of water from the pool and headed to the restroom.
Though the cut bled a great deal it was small. A deep bruise was forming but Splinter didn’t think that there was any damage. So he carefully cleaned the cut with soap and water and then covered it with one of their precious few bandages.
A bandage seemed to be all that was needed to end Donatello’s tears and Splinter carried him back out to the common room.
“I got a bandage,” Donatello stated to Leonardo as Splinter put him back down.
Leonardo looked down at the bandage with a bit of envy in his blue eyes. What was it about bandages that children loved? That little adhesive strip made everything better.
With Donatello taken care of, it was time for Splinter to turn his attention to Raphael. He walked up to the table, Raphael was hiding under. “Raphael,” Splinter said with a stern voice. “What happened?”
“It’s Donnie’s fault,” Raph whimpered from under the table. “Mikey went into the pool to….”
“What?” Splinter exclaimed, cutting Raphael off. “Michelangelo is where?” As he spoke Splinter rushed over to look into the pool. He could not see the small freckle faced turtle in the deep dark water. “Michelangelo!” Splinter called out, plunging his arms into the water to feel around. There was no sign of him and Splinter’s heart raced. He couldn’t lose another child.
Raphael crawled out from under the table to stand next to his brothers to watch their father. Donatello began to whimper as he sucked his thumb. Splinter would usually pull Donatello’s hand down but at the moment that was the least of his worries.
Dread overcame him. If Michelangelo was underwater, too much time had passed. With tears in his eyes, Splinter looked at his three remaining children. He continued to fail as a father. He continued to lose the ones he loved. He wanted to curl up and quit.
“I’ll get him,” Raphael said, rushing toward the pool.
“No,” Splinter yelled, causing Raphael to freeze. “I have told you not to go in there,” he continued to yell. His chest hurt from all the pain and anger and he let it all out on his sons. “Your brother is gone because you cannot listen. When he is discovered, we will all be in danger.” He knew they were too young to fully understand.
The water would also be undrinkable now. And if Michelangelo was ever found they might be able to trace him back here somehow. Splinter started to consider moving. Maybe there was another place they could call home. This place was so perfect but he didn’t think they would be able to stay after this. It was too risky.
“Go to your rooms,” Splinter said in a small voice. “I need time to think.”
Just as the boys turned, crying to head to their room, there was a splash in the pool and Michelangelo emerged. “I got it,” he said, holding up a Barbie doll. “It’s dark down there.”
Raphael rushed forward, holding out his hands. “Give her to me.”
“Michelangelo!” Splinter beat Raphael to the pool and scooped Michelangelo out of the water before Raphael could get his doll. He was filled with relief as he held the smallest turtle to his chest.
“You’re crushing me,” Michelangelo grunted.
“Give me my doll,” Raph demanded, tugging on Michelangelo’s foot. Michelangelo dropped the doll down to Raphael. He failed to catch it and the doll fell to the floor. Raphael bent down to pick it up and then started to cry. “She’s all wet.” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he held the doll up to Splinter. “She’s all wet,” he repeated, expecting Splinter to make it all better.
“In a minute, Raphael,” Splinter said.
“No now!” Raphael screamed out.
Splinter’s tail whipped around to swat Raphael on the leg for his outburst. “I said in a minute.”
“You hate me,” Raphael sobbed and ran off to his room. Splinter hated when Raphael did that, it made his heart ache but he wasn’t about to let Raphael guilt him out of teaching him discipline and respect.
Splinter held Michelangelo out and looked him over. “Are you alright?”
“Yep,” Michelangelo smiled.
“How…?” Splinter looked at his son in disbelief.
Michelangelo pointed down at Donatello. “Donnie throwed Raphie’s doll in’a pool. I got it out.”
“You can swim?” Splinter asked. And Michelangelo tilted his head to the side in confusion. Walking back over to the pool Splinter placed Michelangelo in the water. “Can you keep your head above the water?”
“Yeah,” Michelangelo said as he treaded water. “And I can hold my breath for a long time. Watch.” With that he dove under water.
Leonardo came up to the edge of the pool and started whimpering as he shifted from one foot to the other. Then he looked up at his father with pleading eyes. Splinter hesitated a moment and then said, “You can go in the water.”
Leonardo jumped in and effortlessly started to move through the water.
Splinter turned to look at Donatello. “Would you like to join them?”
Donatello shook his head though he looked down in the water with a desire to join them. “I’ll get my bandage wet.”
Splinter couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Michelangelo’s head broke the surface and the smallest turtle didn’t even gasp after being under so long. He then dove back down to continue his exploration of the bottom of the pool. After a while Michelangelo popped back up and pulled himself out and Leonardo soon followed.
“You boys can swim in the pool,” Splinter told them, earning wide smiles from them. “Just don’t go through any pipes or tunnels. You don’t know how long they are. You could drown if you can’t get back up to the surface in time. The pipes and tunnels also lead out of the lair. Remember what I told you would happen if you were to leave the lair?”
“The scary monsters will get us,” Leonardo answered.
“That is right,” Splinter nodded. “They will take you away and you will never be seen again. So don’t swim through the pipes. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sensei,” they answered in unison.
