Chapter Text
Donnie was getting worried. After Raph had been hit with the stinger they’d spent a few hours looking for a relatively safe place to take a break, stopping the bleeding the best they could, and getting some food together. In theory his brother should be doing better by now and he was— sort of. He could move a bit. In other ways he seemed worse. Raph seemed out of it, and dizzy if the way he’d been squinting since he sat up was any indication. Donnie did not like the implication of new symptoms appearing to replace the old ones. He may have been wrong about that stinger only holding a paralytic, and he did not want to be wrong. He really did not want to be wrong. Having any of them sick while they were here was dangerous, but Raph? Raph was too stubborn for his own good.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like things were going the way he’d hoped and his brother had refused the food they’d gathered. Instead, he’d opted to stay curled up near the fire. If they were lucky, and they rarely were, Raph was just a bit nauseous and would feel fine in a couple hours. If that wasn’t the case… well they needed to split up so at least two of them could start looking for slightly more permanent shelter anyway. They were not trying to fight any more of those insects without all of them in fighting shape. If Leo’s worried looks were any indication, they were probably thinking the same thing.
As usual, the glare Raph threw Leo’s way when the back of Donnie’s hand tested his temperature could have killed. At least he was still feeling well enough for that even if it meant he was more likely to stubbornly push through the injury. No fever yet. Telling Leo as much had his brother’s shoulders slumping in relief. Mikey seemed to relax slightly as well. Donnie hadn’t even noticed the glances he’d been giving Raph since he’d been stung. “You all realize I’m going to be fine, right.”
“Actually, we don’t Raph. I thought the venom had only paralyzed you, but you haven’t been looking well since you started being able to move again.” His brother rolled his eyes, but didn’t open his mouth to say anything else. “I’m serious. Tell me if you start to feel any worse.”
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t need to mother hen me.” Donnie just sighed. If his brother wanted to pretend nothing was wrong he wasn’t going to stop him for the moment. It would be a different story if or when he got worse. A few minutes passed by before Mikey piped up.
“Maybe Leo and I should go looking for, like, a cave or something? I don’t want to be out here when those bugs come back.” None of them were going to disagree with the youngest on that one, so he and Leo left to search some cliffs they had seen nearby. Meanwhile, Donnie spent his time talking with April. He kept an eye on his red-masked brother as subtly as he could.
Their first, and probably last, bit of good luck that day meant Leo and Mikey returned having found a cave before Raph got noticeably worse. He was still feeling well enough to put up a fight when Leo insisted on helping him walk— he was definitely wobbly— but it only lasted a minute with the combined efforts of the three siblings and April. That didn’t mean Raph stopped grumbling at any point during the walk. It didn’t make getting him to lay down again any less of a task, either. His brother was stubborn if nothing else, and Donnie had long given up on him being a half-decent patient. Ever. The most fussing the other turtle usually tolerated was a quick patch job. That was on a good day.
Any discussion about who was taking what watch was left until Raph had fallen asleep. He probably knew what they were doing considering how long he managed to stay up. Donnie saw him shake himself awake multiple times. Leo insisted on going first, which left Donnie to make sure Leo would wake him if things got bad and then get himself as comfortable as he could. To everyone’s shock, heavy on the sarcasm, it seemed like whatever bit of luck they’d had ran out with the cave.
Donnie was woken by the sound of panicked voices followed by retching. Groaning, he searched for the source of the noise to find that Leo had managed to move Raph to the cave entrance. His trembling brother was leaning against Leo’s plasteron for support while Leo rubbed his shell and muttered reassurances. Donnie padded over, Leo glancing up at him but otherwise not moving, and knelt down next to them. “He has a fever, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, he started feeling really nauseous about five minutes ago. We’ve been like this since.”
“Where’s April?”
“She went to get him some water.” Donnie nodded and stood back up, turning to check on the fire. There wasn’t much they were able to do for his brother’s comfort, so keeping it going would have to be enough.
Raphael couldn’t remember a time where he’d felt this sick. The others had caught the flu or a cold on occasion, but he’d usually been able to escape with nothing beyond a stuffy nose and a mild headache. This was not that. He was fucking freezing, his head ached, he couldn’t stop shaking, and he’d just lost what was left of his last meal. His stomach was still rolling in protest anyway. Leo’s presence was helping slightly, but he really just wanted some pain meds and sleep. They didn’t have any. Had he mentioned he hated bugs? He clamped his mouth shut at another wave of nausea and buried his face in his brother’s plasteron. Fuck he hated bugs. Leo hummed in response, “Sorry, I know you’re probably feeling like shit. If it helps I'll be telling Mikey to lay off the teasing about being scared of bugs.”
“Not scared of ‘em.”
He heard a soft laugh, “Sure you aren’t. That’s why you scream at me to kill it whenever you see a roach.” Raph grumbled and lightly punched his brother’s arm. If anyone asked, that was not the most strength he could manage right now. “Ow, you’re a terrible patient.” Leo still pulled him closer when he shivered. Eventually he felt a little less like his stomach would turn itself inside out and Leo moved them closer to the fire. He was grateful for the heat. It wasn’t long after that April returned with some water and he was grateful for the survival lessons their father had forced on them as kids as well. Otherwise they’d have had to make the trip over to the river themselves. He wasn’t sure if he could stand on his own. He’d probably keel over just from how hard he was shaking. The drink cleared the fog in his mind a bit, but he’d decided he was very comfortable where he was so Leo would have to deal with it for now. Granted, his older brother didn’t seem to be complaining.
“So,” oh great Mikey was awake— “anyone who now agrees with Raphie’s ‘I hate bugs’ sentiment say I.” Donnie let out an exasperated sigh. He could get behind that reaction. “What??”
“Just stop while you’re ahead, Mike.”
“Fine, I see how it is. How are you feeling though, Raphie?” He shrugged and waved his hand in a so-so motion. He wasn’t going to lie and say he felt good. It would have been a bit too obvious.
“In Raph-speak that means awful.” Donnie could shove it. Leo just snorted.
“Yeah I think we’ve all figured that out. If he felt anything other than awful he’d have shoved me away by now.” That was false. “Normally he’d just pull the tough guy ‘I’m fine’ act until he actually was.” Yo, he was right there. His shifting so his brothers could actually hear him properly was quickly aborted by white-hot pain lancing up his leg. He chirped. Everyone froze— damn it. Leo’s other hand came up to cover the back of his neck protectively. He hated that Leo remembered that; why had he told him that? Fuck his leg hurt. Donnie was the first to shake off his surprise and speak, clapping his hands together.
“So if he’s still like this in the morning we are splitting up and finding the way home!” April, who’d mostly been keeping to herself and letting the brothers handle things, glanced between them all in confusion.
“What just… happened?” Leo frowned at the question.
“That noise was a chirp. We don’t make it often anymore. It was more common when we were kids, but usually we only do it when we’re really stressed or in a lot of pain now.”
“Yeah, so Raphie doing it is kind of a big deal!” Damn it Mikey. Raph wished he could pull into his shell more than ever, now. He hadn’t made that noise in years. He wasn’t a baby anymore.
“Well I think I've just about got everything we need from my uncle’s notes. If we do need to split up in the morning we should have what we need to get out of here.” He’d completely forgotten about the notebook full of calculations they’d found earlier. He tried not to flinch as Donnie reached for his injured leg. The mumbled apology he got probably meant he wasn’t very successful.
“Thanks April, I’ve been a bit distracted.” He didn’t see April’s smile and nod, too focused on staying still while his brother peeled away the makeshift bandages. It wasn’t as bad as when he’d tried to move the leg himself, but it still hurt like a bitch.
Leo was struggling to fight off the urge to stop Donnie from checking his little brother’s injury. Raph didn’t seem aware of the soft chirps he’d been making since everyone initially froze. Everything in him wanted to make the pain stop, but he knew what Donnie was doing was important. So, instead of insisting that Donnie leave it alone, he focused on doing what he could to keep Raph calm. Most of that was just staying where he was. “So good news is the injury isn’t infected. Bad news is we have no painkillers and he’s probably not going to be walking much until it heals.” Another chirp from Raph had Leo starting up a quiet churr. Donnie raised an eyeridge at him in response.
“I guess it’s a good thing I carried him here then. He would have made it worse.”
“He would have.” Leo sighed and leaned back against the cave wall. He wasn’t getting any more sleep tonight, and he knew it. It was rare for Raph to need protection, or to come to any of them for comfort. That meant it always hit hard when he did. For him to be so badly hurt in this situation was… not ideal. Leo probably wasn’t going to be able to leave his side, so Donnie and Mikey would be the ones handling the way out. Plus, as annoying as the protective older brother instinct was, he knew Raph would appreciate him staying. It had always been Leo he’d sought out for comfort when they were younger. That hadn’t changed much over the years. None of those instances had prepared him for his brother tucking himself impossibly closer. Whether it was to escape the cold or deal with the pain he was in didn’t matter. Leo tightened his hold— he wasn’t going anywhere.