“Don!” I cried out, heading to his side. It was hardly surprising that April got there before me.
“Omigod!” she exclaimed, gently pulling the bandanna away from the head wound it covered. I was very nearly sick as I looked upon the mess of blood and cut skin. It was surprising that Don remained conscious as long as he did.
I quickly stumbled into the kitchen to fill a container with luke warm water so April could wash out the wound.
“Casey, pass me the bandages will you.” asked April, one hand on Don’s head, the other reaching for what Casey handed to her.
I stood back and let her get on with it. It was scary to think that just a few minutes earlier I had been having a conversation with Donatello. It was even more terrifying that every single mutant turtle, other than myself, was close to death.
I began to have horrible day dreams of what it would be like if they all died and I was the left as the last mutant turtle. A sharp kick from my stomach reminded me that I wouldn’t be totally alone.
I absently stared at the wall and placed a hand on my plastron. I imagined what it was going to be like to have a child running about the lair. Probably annoying everyone and screaming about everything, but totally adorable in the way young children are. I could imagine it’s shrill cry when it wanted my attention. It’s yells of...
“Andrea!” snapped April, “Geeze, don’t you zonk out too! Can you get me some more water, please?”
I dozily took the container and headed for the kitchen. I tipped the dirty water down the sink, so unbelievably tired all of a sudden, that I couldn’t even muster the energy to think. Refilling the container with warm water again, I returned to hand it to April.
It was incredible the way April could just carry on. She must have been awake now for over 48 hours and apart from looking slightly tired you would think she had experienced nothing out of the ordinary recently.
I had a nasty thought that this sort of thing was normal. My brain took a brief reality check and finally arrived at the conclusion that April was just a very strong, independent female who took this sort of thing in her stride.
I started to feel embarrassed at my own uselessness. A glance round the room at all my friends in their pitiful conditions had me retreating back to the kitchen. I looked around for something to do and spotted a tin of soup on the work surface.
I felt profoundly guilty as I realized my own hunger. But I quickly realized that if I was hungry, then everyone else must be starving.
Leonardo and Michaelangelo probably hadn’t eaten in days.
After politely getting April’s consent to use her kitchen and food, I hunted round for pans and tried to learn where everything was. I started to cook the tin of soup I found on the counter and also some other tins I had found in the cupboards.
I leant heavily on the work-surface while I stirred the soups, trying to take some weight of my complaining legs and feet. I also found that the middle of my back was aching in the same way it used to after excessive Judo practice back in England. But back in the UK I had been able to massage my back and soothe it. Now I had a shell in the way.
When the soup was just about ready a few minutes later, I hunted around and finally found the cutlery and bowls. I laid out enough sets for one each, being rather optimistic that Don and Raph would be in a state of consciousness.
Pouring out the soup into the bowls, I took out two at a time and offered them to people. Splinter accepted a vegetable soup gratefully while Casey went for the tomato.
Leonardo eagerly took the food and swiftly started eating as if it had been years since he last tasted real food. Maybe it hadn’t been years in reality, but almost certainly days. Believably it could have been weeks, or months.
April had finished with Don, who just needed time to recover, or otherwise. He had been laid across the floor on blankets and pillows, next to the couch with Raphael slumped on. I left two soups for Donatello and Raph in the kitchen. April took hers, then I took the two remainder over to Mikey.
He opened one eye somnolently and watched me as I knelt by him.
“Hey, Mikey, I brought you some soup.” I said softly, offering the bowl to him. Michaelangelo slowly closed the eye and sighed.
“I... N, no... Whhaaa..?” he murmured, feebly trying to raise one hand. I set the bowl down on the floor and gently stroked his hand.
“Shhhh...” I soothed. “Here, just open your mouth and I’ll...” I tried desperately to think of something to say other than ‘feed you’. “...uh, put a spoonful in.”
I placed one hand on Mike’s cool cheek and with the other, carefully fed him some of the soup. It made me feel a little better to be doing something useful and it also made me feel good that I was doing something to help Mikey who in his only little way, had done so much to help me after we met. So far I had only caused him trouble.
After eating half the soup, Michaelangelo slowly turned his head to look wearily at me.
“Can’t... Any more...” he whispered.
“That’s okay.” I said softly. “You just try and get some sleep.” I gently lowered Mike into a lying position and placed a pillow under his head. Within minutes he was snoring softly.
I turned back to the rest of the group to find that Mike wasn’t the only one. Splinter was breathing deeply, slouched in one of Aprils chairs. Leonardo had his eyes closed. The licked clean soup bowl was placed by his left hand.
April had moved to check Casey’s cuts and as I turned towards her, she informed me that she was going with Casey down to the local hospital to have his cuts seen to. It was a painful reminder of how the world could not accept anyone different. Even someone who had originally been one of them.
“We should be back in a few hours. If you need me, there’s the number of my mobile by the phone.” she said, disappearing out the door with Casey and leaving me alone in a roomful of near dead mutants.
Great.
Leonardo opened his eyes and managed to smile at me.
“Thanks for the soup, Andrea.” he shifted his weight so he was sitting up more. I was very glad that at least someone other than me was awake and I moved to sit next to Leonardo, in the hope of intelligent conversation.
“You want some more?” I asked, thinking of the two bowls sitting in the kitchen and also my bowl which I had left by Mikey.
“Naw. Sokay. Don’t think I could eat anymore, I haven’t had much practice recently.” he gave me another dry smile. “Have you eaten anything yet?” he asked.
“No. Not yet.” It amazed me how Leonardo could care about someone else, even though he was obviously worse off than me. Donatello had also asked about my health earlier, just before he...
I was fortunately cut off from my train of thought by Leo talking.
“You should eat something.” he decided. “If not for yourself, then for the baby.”
“What do you know about the baby, Leo?” I asked suddenly, remembering our conversation the previous evening in the van and for the moment, forgetting about my hunger.
Leonardo started to turn slightly red.
“I... Really don’t want to talk about it...” he started. “A, all I know is that our baby was originally going to be created for evil. But I guess we can change that now, huh?”
I opened my eyes a little wider when he used the term ‘our baby’.
“So you are the father?” I said, trying to establish the truth I had wondered about for so long. Leonardo gave me a funny look.
“You mean they didn’t..? Surely they..?! Didn’t you...?!?” he stuttered.
“I was only told that it was a male mutant turtle.” I replied, saving him from asking the question. “I was convinced it was Mikey at first, until I found out you were captured too...” I started to look a little embarrassed myself as I tried to think how to word the next question.
“So, err, did you... With me... Uhh... We didn’t... Did we?” It was my turn to do the stammering.
“N, no.” confirmed Leonardo, glowing red. “A... different method was used. I think... Yeah...”
“Right. Uh... Good. No, I don’t mean good. Er, I mean... Urrrhhh... Well...” I stopped and blushed, a million thoughts swirling through my head. Leonardo smiled.
“I know what you mean.”
We sat in polite silence. I gazed around the room at the invalids who lay cast about, all sleeping. Leonardo sleepily closed his eyes.
I started to feel exhausted. I had only slept in the van a few hours previously, but the combination of the events which had happened to me and my pregnancy were causing fatigue. I closed my eyes and relaxed my muscles.
I slipped into a state of contented slumber so swiftly, that I barely felt Leonardo tentatively put his arm around me as we slept, side by side.