In which April saves a life and, miraculously, doesn't get sick.

For as long as April had been without her father, she'd had the boys to help keep her sane. When she wasn't getting swept away in their complicated adventures or training with Master Splinter, she always ended up thinking about her missing father. As a solution, she simply stuck around them more; they kept her mind away from things that were painful to think about, and for that she was grateful.

Getting used to the turtles was a different story. It took her quite a while to understand their personalities, but soon she was able to interact with them fluently. While they were much different then her father, she was comfortable with them.

Once school picked up, April found herself spending less time with them—not exactly a change she welcomed. On weekends she ditched her home completely to catch up on training and general hanging-out. Today, as she shed her jacket and bookbag upon entering the lair, she could tell immediately that something was wrong.

No one was watching TV, or playing video games, or lazing around in the open seating area. In fact, it didn't sound like anyone was home at all. Cautiously, April ventured to the kitchen, only to find it empty as well. She headed for the dojo next until realizing that if they had been in there, she would've heard them from the entrance. The only other place she could think of was Donnie's lab—which was where she headed to next.

Sure enough, she found the self-taught scientist working away at, well, whatever Donnie worked at. April had spent enough time around her father to know how scientists functioned; they were into their work, all or nothing, no fickle mediums. And from what she could tell, Donnie was all in.

It took two minutes of persistent calling for Donnie to even acknowledge her—weird, considering Donnie tended to crowd her more than anyone else. His face lit up upon seeing her and he waved at her from behind a table scattered with beakers, papers, syringes, and various other random things.

"Long time no see," Donnie said amiably, only paying half attention to her. He measured something carefully into a beaker, and poured it into a separate solution.

"I know," April said. She walked over to his table to have a closer look at what he was doing. "School's been rough. And now that finals are coming up, things are only going to get worse." With a groan, April collapsed against the table, burying her face in her arms.

Donnie chuckled quietly. "Sorry to hear that. You know if you ever need help studying…"

April peered up at him, rolling her eyes. "I know," she smiled, "I can ask you. You've told me a million times."

"Just making sure," Donnie said, seeming to lose his concentration on the conversation.

Before she lost him to his work completely, April said, "By the way, where is everyone?"

"Mikey and Leo are patrolling," Donnie replied as he recorded something down, then moved to another solution. "And Raph's quarantined."

Well that was interesting. Perking up, April cocked her head to the said. "Quarantined? What happened?"

"He won't let me diagnose him properly-" Donnie sounded vaguely annoyed –"but I'm pretty sure it's the flu."

April winced sympathetically. At school there were dozens of kids absent with the flu. Even a couple of April's friends had it—and they seemed miserable. She could only imagine what Raph must have been like. "Poor Raph. Getting sick is a real pain." She paused, then frowned. "You quarantined him because he has the flu?"

Donnie stopped his work momentarily to match her flat look with one of his own. "Do you have any idea how quickly sickness spreads in turtles? The answer is: really quickly. Taking care of Raph is bad enough as it is—I don't want to deal with Mikey and Leo too."

Slouching against the heel of her hand, April absently watched Donnie resume his work. "Raph can't be that bad… I could help, if you want. I mean you look like you've got your hands full here." Brightening at the idea, April stood. "You know what, Don? You're getting a day off. You can't stop being the Medical Extraordinaire for a day or two—I'll handle Raph."

Donnie rubbed his forehead tiredly. "April, I don't think you know what you're getting into."

"Puh-lease, Donnie," she said, exaggeratedly rolling her eyes. "My dad's the worst patient in history—if I can handle him, I can handle Raph. Plus, I have a flu shot. I won't get sick from him."

Though she wasn't positive, April thought she saw Donnie smirk. "Whatever you say, April." She grinned and turned to leave, barely catching his mumbled, "Good luck."

Raph's room was a mess.

That part was expected; it was Raph, after all. April didn't think he'd particularly care about tidiness. The majority of the mess was strewn about comics and dumbbells—which she was careful not to walk into—and the occasional pizza box. A hammock on the far side of the room held up a groaning mass, and after moment April realized it was Raph.

She felt bad for him, but at the same time, couldn't help but tease. "Aw geez," she said, wading through the mess to get near him, "you sound awful."

Raph nearly jumped out of his hammock. He flinched spectacularly and tangled his limbs in his blanket—which had something that looked suspiciously like the Space Heroes logo on it—before worming his head out of the mess to gape at her. "Who let you in here?" he griped. April guessed he had a stuffy nose; his words sounded pitiable rather than intimidating.

"I let myself in. Donnie's tired of taking care of you so I thought I'd give him a break." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Apparently, you're a tough patient."

"I'm an amazing patient," Raph growled, though it lacked conviction. Before she could reply, he sneezed violently and rolled to the ground with a hard thud.

Bemused, April watched the turtle wrestle with his blanket. "Right," she said, dubious. "Nonetheless, I'm in charge of things for now. And first things first, you need more fluids."

"Wha?" Raph pulled himself into a sitting position. Now that April had a good look at him, she could tell he was definitely sick. His eyes were almost bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in days, and he seemed to be a few shades paler than normal.

"Listen to yourself, you're croaking like a frog. Fluids will take care of that." Suddenly, she kneeled down in front of him and gripped onto his shoulders. Ignoring his protests she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his.

Raph stiffened at the contact, and after a moment April pulled away. "Oh yeah, you've definitely got a fever. Fluids should help that too."

"What," Raph said intelligently.

April got back to her feet, "I was taking your temperature, slick. You've got a fever and I'm not really surprised—especially if you've been in this thick blanket for a while." She held up the flannel fabric with a frown.

"I'm cold," Raph said defensively, snapping out of his vacant-eyed funk and pulling the blanket towards himself. He seemed ready to curl up on the floor and fall asleep right there. "Don't even think about taking this thing away; I had to fight Leo for two days before he let me have it."

"Sorry," April said with a wince. "Bundling yourself up won't help break that fever. We'll have to find you something lighter."

Raph didn't let go of the blanket. "I am cold," he reiterated, narrowing his puffy red eyes at her.

"You're burning up, actually. The faster you get rid of your fever, the faster you'll get better." April reached for the blanket again, but Raph sluggishly moved out of the way. His defiant expression was betrayed by the exhaustion in his movements. April knew he had to be bone-tired; any threats he made to run were probably empty ones.

"Raph," she said seriously, squatting to be at eye level with him. She held out her palm. "Give me the blanket."

There was an intense staring contest between the two that lasted for nearly a minute. Finally Raph gave in, and grudgingly handed her the blanket; April patted his head, just to make him mad, and stood. "Was that so hard?"

From his spot on the floor, Raph glared up at her. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and shivered. "I hate you."

"Mhm," April agreed absently. She slung the blanket over her shoulder. "I'll be back with a drink and a different blanket. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

After he grunted his consent, April left the room. She made a mental note to take the blanket through the wash before giving it back to Leo. She was with Donnie now; the last thing she wanted was another sick turtle.

She put the blanket down by her pile of belongings in the front room and stalked to the kitchen. By the time she returned to Raph's room, bearing a mug of water and a thin blanket, Raph had actually fallen asleep where she left him.

April couldn't help herself; she smiled. When he was awake Raph was angry and bitter and loud—but fast asleep he was almost the exact opposite. The normally choleric expression he wore had softened as he snored, and his fists unclenched to sprawled out palms that covered his shoulders as he tried to warm himself.

April realized with a start that he was still just a kid. An angry kid—a kid with impossible weight on his shoulders, but a kid nonetheless.

Sighing, April set down the mug and covered up the sleeping turtle in his blanket. She had considered waking him up and forcing him to drink…but now, she decided, he just needed some rest.

It was much later when April finally returned home. She was bone-tired; taking care of Raph was hard work, and to top it off, she'd had to fight Leo for him to let her stay. The moment he and Mikey returned from patrol he was like a mother hen—trying his best to shoo her back home ("It's two am, April, you need sleep!") and not taking no for an answer. It was nearing three when April finally gave in. Raph had fallen asleep again after April coaxed him into eating a bowl of soup, and she felt strangely reluctant to leave him, but forced herself out of their home and into hers.

She'd fallen fast asleep the moment her head hit her pillow. Only a few hours later, her cell-phone's ringtone woke her. April blearily answered the call, too tired to give more than a quiet grunt as a greeting.

"April?" It was Donnie, and he sounded frantic. "April, please wake up."

April recognized the tremble in his voice. She sat up, concerned. "Don? What's the matter?"

"It's….Raph."

That was all it took. Instantly, April was awake. She rushed to throw on her coat and grabbed her spare house keys; as much as it killed her to do, she needed to make a quick stop before she went back to the lair. "Donnie," she said into the phone, voice even, "give me ten minutes, okay? Will you be okay for that long?"

"It's not me I'm worried about," was Donnie's response, and April changed the wait time to five minutes.

By the time April was running into their home only four minutes later (the cashier at the drugstore had worked fast, bless him) she'd gotten three different texts from Donnie, all bearing more urgency than the last.

April, he hasn't stopped coughing in five minutes.

He doesn't recognize me or Leo anymore.

April, HURRY.

Her first destination was Raph's room—time seemed to be going slower as she ran, clutching the various medicines she'd bought tightly as she went.

The room, tiny as it was, seemed packed by the entire family squished inside. Splinter seemed more worried than relieved at her arrival, but Donnie dragged her into the thick of things before he could get a word in edgewise.

"I don't," he choked, "I don't know what's wrong. He was fine until about an hour ago—then Mikey said he could hear Raph retching, and when we found he was barely conscious enough to tell me his own name. I took his temperature and it wasn't too bad, but now it's climbing and I can't bring it down-I don't know what to do-…" Donnie was nearly hyperventilating.

April cast the bed-ridden turtle a sidelong glance. He looked worse than before, only now his breathing seemed to be shallow as well, and she didn't blame Donnie for being scared. She was scared—but she couldn't show it, not when she needed to be strong. "Donnie, take a few deep breaths okay? What did you do to bring down the fever?"

"We took away his blankets, and used two- maybe three moist towels. It worked for a little while but then…" Donnie sounded close to tears. "I just don't understand; he was fine, asleep even by the time you left. Then out of no where he just…"

April grabbed his hand and squeezed. "You did good, Donnie," she said encouragingly. She released his hand and knelt by Raph; someone had exchanged his hammock for a flat mattress on the ground. She was trying not to shake but her hands couldn't stop; leaning, she pressed her forehead against his and jerked away. He was burning up. This couldn't be normal. April had to take a few breaths to calm herself, then looked up at Leo.

So far, the leader hadn't said a word. He didn't have to; April could see the worry in his eyes. He seemed paler, and if the beads of sweat on his head were anything to go by, April had to guess he wasn't feeling very well either.

"Leo, we can't have you catching this. If you're feeling sick let me know now."

"I'm fine," Leo said, but his expression faltered.

April shook her head. "Leo, I'm serious."

"So am I. Just tell me what I need to do." April decided not to waste time arguing with him. She shook her head, exasperated.

"Fine, whatever. Get me some ice packs. And cool water." She turned to face Mikey, and felt her heart break at the sight. It was obvious he had shed more than a tear or two, and looked ready to shed some more. Softening, April patted his head. "Raph's going to be fine. I promise. Can you help me get some towels?"

He nodded, albeit shaky. He and Leo both left reluctantly to do what April had asked.

Still kneeling, April repositioned the pillow under Raph's head to allow him to breathe easier. He still rasped—and the sound was just as worrying as his fever. "If worst comes to worst, we'll get him in so warm water. But I don't think it'll come to that." She glanced up to meet Donnie gaze.

The tears welling in his eyes reminded her: he was just a kid. They all were.

"I really am proud of you, Donnie. You've kept a cool head during all of this." She patted his shoulder affectionately. "But I need to you keep your composure. For me."

Nodding, Donnie wiped the tears from his eyes. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," April dismissed him. "Can you go through the bag I brought? Which one's best for a fever?"

Donnie fumbled around in the store bag. He raced through the labels, eyes scanning them so quickly April was surprised that he could even understand what he was reading. "Uh, Advil?" He handed her the small bottle. "Two of the tablets, I think."

"Right." They both looked at Raphael, and made the instant decision that that wasn't happening any time soon. "Uh, this might be a problem…" April winced at her choice of words; "I mean, we can work around it. Let's just wait for Leo and Mikey to get back."

Donnie nodded, but didn't relax. April didn't blame him; she was high strung herself. Every time her gaze flittered over to Raph, she felt dread sit like a rock in her stomach. His breathing hadn't evened out, and sweat was rolling off his forehead in waves. Despite this, he was shivering, and the combination was looking more and more bleak.

Leo and Mikey arrived moments later. "Did you get the water?" she asked, and soundlessly, Leo handed her a glass.

"Donnie, sit him up. Hold him upright if you have to—but he has to stay hydrated." Donnie quickly obeyed. April had to will her hands not to tremble as she positioned the cup at the turtle's lips, giving him small sips with breaks in between. His eyes fluttered open once or twice, but Raph gave no indication that he was aware of what was happening. At long last, April realized the glass was empty.

She motioned for Donnie to lay him back down again. April quickly set to work wrapping the ice packs in layers with the towels, then positioned two of them underneath both of Raph's arms, and one on his forehead. Once she was finished, she sat back and rubbed at her temples.

"That's all I can do until he's conscious enough to eat," she said softly. Her resolved was beginning to crumble. "I-I'm sorry guys, I wish I could do more…"

"You've done more than enough." Splinter laid a hand on her shoulder. The room fell silent as they sat back and did the only thing they could: wait.

Raph came coughing back into consciousness nearly two hours later. April and Donnie, still pumped up on adrenaline, had talked until they were dozing, leaning heavily on each others shoulders. Leo had left, only after April's threat of kicking his butt into next week if he so much as caught a sniffle. She felt bad to be so harsh to him, but Leo would sit in that room until he was shaking and fevered too if it meant he got to see his brother wake up. And two sick turtles was the last thing anybody wanted. (Mikey had left with Splinter, too upset to even speak. His silence had to be the worst thing about the whole ordeal.)

Donnie came to with a start at the sound of Raph's hacking, and April was right behind him. "Water," she said, too many words trying to tumble out of her mouth and once, and numbly, Donnie got up and disappeared from the room, returning moments later with another full cup of water.

They waited for Raph's coughing to die down, then moved away the melting ice packs and sat him up again, like they had done before. His eyes were half-open now, staring vacantly at April as she coaxed the cool liquid into him.

"Raph," she said, feeling her heart pound, "Can you hear me?"

There was no reply. April flicked her eyes up at Donnie, who looked even more worried than he did before. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Raph's throaty wheeze.

"…yeah," he hissed out. April blinked at him until it dawned on her that he had responded to her question.

Donnie nearly dropped his brother in surprise.

"Keep a hold on him!" April warned. Donnie apologized, but April could see he barely heard her. If Raph was responding to questions, that must've meant he was getting better…right?

"Raph, you're alright, okay? Just keep breathing and drink as much water as you can. I promise you'll be okay." April inhaled shakily. She tried to keep her tone lighthearted. "I know you're going to pull through, slick. Something if you can hear me."

There was a pause as Raph coughed. "Some…thin," he said faintly.

Donnie broke the silence with a breathy laugh. "I think he's okay," he chuckled, looking past his brother's wide shoulder to give April gap-toothed smile.

As if the relief were contagious, April found herself laughing too. "I'm getting the same feeling."

Raph stayed partially awake long enough for April to get him to swallow two of the Advil tablets. His eyes were fluttering shut again when April surged forward and leaned her forehead against his. His reaction was subdued, but his eyebrows still climbed higher on his face.

Thankfully, his fever was going down. April knew her method wasn't exact, but it was good enough. Raph succumbed to sleep once more, and April pulled back, allowing Donnie to lay his brother down.

"He's still pretty warm," April said, barely containing a smile. "But the Advil should take care of that."

Donnie grinned in earnest. He didn't say anything—only opened up his arms for a hug, and April accepted with no hesitation at all.

April blinked her eyes open, trying to take in her surroundings. She didn't even remember falling asleep! It only took a moment for her to collect herself; she relaxed at the sight of the TV playing Space Heroes dimly in the corner and the now-familiar walls of the sewers.

After Raph had taken his medicine, she must have dozed off—and if she had to guess, she'd say Donnie carried her out here to have a genuine rest. She reminded herself to thank him for it later.

The events of that morning had been exhausting. She still couldn't shake the feeling of ice cold fear that sat in stomach at the mere thought of it. As she lay still, April could only wonder what would've happened if Raph hadn't gotten better. She wouldn't be able to live with herself, knowing she hadn't saved him… But she couldn't think about that. Not anymore; the scare was in the past, and she needed to live in the present.

With a yawn she sat up. Despite the TV being on, there was no one around. She swung her legs off the side of the couch and rubbed her eyes (a glance at her phone told her it was well past noon), trying to wake herself and remember when she'd even gotten to the living room in the first place.

Faintly, she could hear low voices in the kitchen. April pushed aside her thoughts and tried to listen.

"You didn't have to do this…"

She grinned a little; the obviously congested voice had to be Raph's. He sounded infinitely better than he had before; the wheeze behind his words had almost disappeared completely. But who was he talking to?

"Yeah, I know. But that's what I'm here for."

Was that…Leo?

"To make me sandwiches at one am when I'm too sick to tell left from right?"

"No- to take care of you." Yup, definitely Leo. She could practically hear him slap his palm against his forehead. Plus, he sounded stuffed up himself; April made a mental note to get mad at him for lying to her at a later time.

"What gives you that idea? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." April almost laughed outright. This was coming from the same kid who had been burning with fever only a few hours ago? Was he serious?

"Yeah, sure you are." There was a pause, and when Leo spoke again April had to strain to hear him. "You know, you should probably thank April."

"For what? Freezing me half to death?"

Good to know she was appreciated…

"Raph….just don't. She did a good job, okay? I'm pretty sure she saved your life today." Leo's voice made a subtle change from exasperated to concerned. "We didn't know what to do. Donnie had done everything before she showed up—and none of it worked. We thought…we thought…"

Silence. April knew she wasn't the only one who had feared for Raph's life, but to hear Leo be so frank about it alarming. His voice sounded broken and Leo was supposed to be unbreakable.

"That's your own fault. You really think I'd let some coughing and a runny nose kill me? Do you even know me at all?"

April quietly slapped her hand on her forehead. That was so, utterly, Raph: dismissing a traumatizing event with a snort and even getting mad at someone else for being frightened. Typical.

Leo, to her surprise, laughed. "I should have known, I admit. But, uh, make sure you thank her. Because she really did save you."

This time, Raph sounded much more solemn when he answered.

"Yeah," he said, and there was sincerity in his voice she'd never witnessed before. "I know."

end

A/N: Okay, so, long story short: I thought of this idea maybe a week ago, and didn't get a chance to put it up because of finals. You might have seen the first draft of this on tumblr: it's called Defenestrate, if you're interested. I'm thinking about creating a big fic of one-shots instead of posting each chapter as an individual story. I'm on break, anyhow; who knows what might happen.

On a side note, shortly after I finished editing this, I got sick. Can you say irony?