Alright, is everyone ready, have you braced yourselves?!

Last chapter for this fic!:D

Thank you to all of my readers and a special thank you to my reviewers: I love kittens too, tmntlover2013, AdrenalizeMe, ittle Soldier Mine, violet-bo, Bubblyshell22, kifanya, dondena, help, helfyrephoenix, SleepingSeeker, liltikewriter, Teen Titains Tmnt, and jaddis

A giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter for me!

And now, please enjoy!

Chapter 6

Raphael leaned his shoulder against the door frame of Donatello's lab, looking around the empty room.

There was a fine coating of dust covering all of the surfaces; the room dark, silent and unused.

It had been almost a three weeks since Donatello's heart had stopped beating, filling his bedroom with the high pitched whine of the heart monitor's flatline.

Recalling the horrific night, Raphael remembered as he had watched the frantic motions of his family as they had buzzed around Donatello, like busy bees in a hive, trying desperately to get Donatello's heart beating again, but to no avail.

He had fallen to his knees, unable to believe that they hadn't administered the medicine in time to prevent Donatello's death. Tears had welled up in his eyes as he let out a keening wail of anguish and despair.

Michelangelo had stumbled back, Leonardo managing to catch their baby brother before he fell to the ground in shocked disbelief.

"B-but...we gave him the medicine," Michelangelo had whispered in bewildered anguish. "It should have worked."

Leonardo clutched Michelangelo to his chest more tightly. "I know, Mikey. But...but we were too late," he finished miserably, his voice breaking slightly as his eyes closed tightly in grief.

April had sworn and rushed from the room, pushing Casey out of the way as she had ran, leaving them alone with Donatello's body, lying ever so still and peaceful upon his bed.

Raphael stared at Donatello's motionless form as Michelangelo sobbed into Leonardo's shoulder. Anger, hot and full of unfathomable vitriol burned through his veins. He struggled to his feet and stalked towards the bed, his furious gaze raking Donatello's body.

"You BASTARD!" he roared. "You were supposed to get better! You weren't supposed to DIE!" He grabbed Donatello by his shoulders, hauling him up slightly, his brother's head lolling limply to the side.

"Raph!" Leonardo shouted at him, leaping up and trying to haul him backwards, but he shoved his oldest brother back with one hand, still clutching Donatello's lifeless body with the other. He reached back and clutched at Donatello again with both hands. He gave Donatello a slight shake, causing Donatello's head to flop back and forth bonelessly.

"We got you the medicine, so what the hell is wrong with you?!" Raphael continued to berate his genius brother for daring to die on them. "You selfish asshole," Raphael whispered miserably, his voice losing all of its heat as the reality of Donatello's death began to permeate his brain.

"Please…Please, Donny," his voice broke as he clutched Donatello to his chest. "Please. You can't be dead, you can't be." He felt angry, grief filled tears threaten to spill over as Donatello remained silent, still, and unresponsive to his words. "If you die on me, I swear, I will HATE you forever," he snarled, giving Donatello's body a fierce shake.

"Raph," Leonardo's miserable voice pleaded.

"Bro," Casey whispered gently as Leonardo murmured hushed, comforting words to Michelangelo.

"Raph! Put Donny back down on his bed and MOVE!" April had yelled at him, trying to push him out of the way.

Raphael pulled his teeth back in a feral growl, daring April to try to pull Donatello from his arms.

"I swear to God, Raphael, that I will use this defibrillator on you if you don't move your ass out of the way RIGHT NOW!" April shoved him hard, her words seeming to penetrate through the cloud of grief that had consumed him.

Raphael reverently lay Donatello back down on the bed, hastily moving out of the way as April tore into the black bag she hastily slammed down on the night table.

She yanked the modified paddles from the bag, cranking the dial, the high pitched whine of the defibrillator drowning out the monotonous blare of the flatline.

"Clear!" she yelled taking the needles and slamming them through their brother's plastron so the charge would actually make it to their brother's heart.

Donatello's body had leapt from the table, the heart monitor pausing before their brother's body hit the bed, the needles pulling free.

Raphael's eyes were trained on the monitor, the green line having leapt up briefly before slipping back down into an unmoving straight line.

"Don't you dare do this to me, Donatello! Now try harder!" April yelled, the machine charging again. "Please, you have to fight!" she begged. "Clear!" She slammed the needles in again.

Donatello's body shot off the bed again before slamming limply back down. Raphael glared at the heart monitor daring it to remain nothing but a solid green line, but it continued to mocked him.

"April?" Leonardo asked in a shaky voice.

April had looked at them with tear filled eyes, shaking her head back and forth in misery.

Raphael had looked down at his brother again, bitter, grief welling up inside him as he reached out, grabbing the needles from April's unresisting grip. He leaned forward the sound of the charging filling the room again. "If you don't get your ass back here and take a breath, I'm gonna to jam these things into your body until you do. So unless you want me to keep makin' your body jump off this table like a landed trout, you had better get the hell back here and do something about it!" he threatened, punctuating his promise by leaning back and slamming the needles through his brother's abused plastron.

Raphael did not focus upon his brother's body as the electricity coursed through it, causing it to arch off the table. Instead he willed the taunting green line to move, to spike, to blip, to do anything other than remain perfectly, tauntingly flat.

The line jumped once before settling back; no movement, just the brutal, unfeeling, continuous line.

Raphael had looked at the line in disbelief, shaking his head back in forth in denial. Michelangelo's choked sobs joined with April's tearful cry of grief...

"Raph, what are you doing?" Leonardo's voice inquired softly from over his shoulder, forcefully dragging his mind from the nightmare of the past and slamming it back into the present.

"I-" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat pushing away the tightness that clutched at his heart as the vivid memories tore through his mind. "I was just thinking that Donny's lab seems so quiet," he replied.

Raphael looked over his shoulder at his older brother and watched as Leonardo's face fell into grim lines.

He turned his attention back to the lab, walking slowly inside and running a finger through the dust that had accumulated on Donatello's work bench.

His fingers traced the outline of where Donatello's last project had rested. Raphael believed it had been a toaster that Donatello had dismantled and was turning into something insane, like a trans-dimensional teleportation device, or a slow cooker…or he was just fixing the damn thing. Raphael couldn't even remember because he had never cared what it was that Donatello was working on. If it hadn't involved any new toys for him to play with or to make their enemies pay, he hadn't paid any attention to what his brother did in his lab. He had always thought that his brother would be there; never thinking that one day, Donatello may not be around anymore.

The thought that he would never be able to talk, see, or even touch him again never even crossed his mind, and that filled him with a regret that he would live with for the rest of his life.

Raphael stepped away from the bench, his arm falling heavily back to his side as he walked over to a supply closet, Leonardo following close behind him.

Pausing, his hand hovering over the handle for a moment, he turned it, quickly throwing the door wide open.

Donatello sat in the corner, his arms wrapped around the toaster in a possessive, almost protective manner.

Their younger brother gave out a startled squeak as Raphael glared down at him.

"Donny, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice unusually calm, even, and containing only the faintest hint of anger. "You're supposed to be resting in bed, remember?"

Raphael had stared so hard at the unmoving green line that his vision had become blurred, or maybe it was the tears of grief that had filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks as he reluctantly accepted the fact that Donatello was gone. He had felt as if a dark, black hole of despair had opened up beneath his feet, swallowing him whole and numbing him to everyone and everything around him. So much so, that it had taken a few moments for him to realize that there was a new noise filling the room, just barely able to be heard over the cries of joy and shock.

He had stared dumbly at the heart monitor, his mind unable to understand how the straight, mocking, unwavering green line came to be moving and spiking with a constant rhythm that stopped his own shocked heart within his chest.

Staring down at the needles that were still clutched in his numb hands, he finally opened his white knuckled grip so that they could drop them unheeded to the ground. He fell forward, gently gathering Donatello's body into his arms and giving him a tearful, crushing hug, burying his beak into the crook of his genius brother's neck.

Raphael had known at that moment that Donatello wasn't out of the woods yet, but at least he was alive, and that gave them all hope that Donatello would have the strength to pull through; which brought them back to finding Donatello hiding in his supply closet in his lab.

Glaring down at his younger brother, he didn't give into his urge to smile at his younger brother's attempt at disobedience, but rather frowned more fiercely. "I'll ask you one more time, Donny. What the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked dangerously.

"I need to do something," Donatello complained. "I've been stuck on the couch in the living room for almost seven weeks and-"

"Yeah, but in case you forgot, you've only been on the couch for six weeks recoverin' from tryin' to die on us, so don't give me that crap," Raphael interrupted with a snarl.

"Fine. I've spent six weeks on that couch, and I can actually feel my brain cells dying," Donatello corrected with a huff of irritation placing the toaster in his lap and moving his wheelchair forward.

It had taken nearly four days for Donatello's fever to break and for him to wake up from his coma, but when he had, Raphael had never felt so happy in his life. Unfortunately they had discovered that Donatello still had no feeling below his waist. Donatello had informed them that the swelling in his brain and spinal column should have gone down, allowing him to move his legs again. Leonardo had then had to inform Donatello that he had performed a spinal tap to confirm that Donatello did indeed have meningitis. Donatello had froze, his face going pale as they all came to the realization that Donatello's life had been saved, but it had been at the cost of his mobility. They had been horrified, Leonardo most of all, because he was the one who had actually performed the spinal tap and paralyzed their brother.

They had then moved Donatello onto the main floor, since it was easier to look after him from there. Donatello had tried to remain positive, he was slowly getting better and the hole that had been drilled in his carapace was healing, but they could all see how badly the fact that he would never walk again tore at him. There were moments when Donatello didn't think that they were watching him, that they had witnessed Donatello curling into himself as much as he could, and crying. Other times Donatello would become moody and depressed before managing to pull himself out of it.

Leonardo of course was consumed by culpability, they all were, but Raphael could see that the guilt was eating Leonardo up inside. Leonardo had begun to avoid Donatello, but only in spurts. It was as if he believed that Donatello should hate him, therefore Leonardo should stay away so that Donatello was not constantly confronted by the brother who had paralyzed him. But then it was like Leonardo would change his mind, waiting on Donatello hand and foot as penance for his mistake.

Finally, Raphael had dragged Leonardo aside and threatened to beat the crap out of him if he didn't calm down and just act normally. Raphael had then pointed out that Donatello would never blame Leonardo for what had happened, and that his behaviour was making Donatello feel even worse than he already did.

Leonardo had been shocked at first by his words, but had actually taken them to heart, and beginning to act more normally around Donatello.

And then, about a week ago, Donatello had woken up in the morning and discovered that he was able to move his toes a little bit. Ever so slowly Donatello had begun to gain some feeling and mobility back in his legs. The relief they had all felt had been profound. As soon as Donatello had realized that he would be able to walk again, he began pushing himself, tiring himself out, and in general, being a bad patient and a pain in their ass. But truthfully, Raphael couldn't be happier.

"Suck it up, Genius," Raphael growled. "You gotta stay on the couch, and now because you didn't, you're gonna regret it," Raphael told his brother, stepping back so that Leonardo could step forward.

Donatello momentarily tensed, but his shoulders drooped with relief as Leonardo walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Donny." he began, his voice stern and serious. "You aren't allowed off the couch for at least another few days, April's orders."

Donatello blew out another irritated huff of air. "I know, Leo," he grumbled. "But it's only the toaster. I can tinker with it in the living room. You won't even know I'm doing it. Please," he begged.

Leonardo looked over his shoulder at Raphael who gave a slight, almost imperceptible negative shake of his head.

Leonardo gave a nod of understanding before turning his attention back to Donatello. "Donny," Leonardo began gently. "You have had us worried half to death for almost two months. We only want you to get better, and April told you no tinkering and no inventions. You are supposed to let your brain heal, which means rest and taking it easy."

"Leo, it's a toaster," Donatello said in a monotone voice.

"We love you, and we are doing this for your own good," Leonardo insisted, giving Donatello's shoulder a comforting squeeze before stepping away.

"Leo, no. Leo, please!" Donatello begged, but a steely glint of resolve settled into their oldest brother's eyes, causing Donatello's to seek out another ally. "Raph?" he pleaded, his voice raising an octave.

Raphael allowed his face to break out into a wide grin. "Payback's a bitch, Donny," he stated glibly. "Maybe next time you'll think before ignorin' the fact that you were sick, and...Oh yeah… For tryin' to die on us."

Donatello flinched slightly, but picked up the toaster, clutching it closer to his chest, almost as if it would shield him from what was about to come. "Come on, guys, please. I swear I will tell you if I have even the tiniest sniffle. I'll stay on the couch, I promise, just please don't-"

"Mikey!" Raphael shouted over his shoulder, cutting off Donatello's words. "We found Donny!"

Donatello's head fell forward in defeat before rising up, eyes narrowed dangerously. "The next time you are sick, Raph, I'm going to-" He never got a chance to finish his threat as Michelangelo rushed into the lab, stumbling slightly in his haste to get into the closet.

Michelangelo's eyes were filled with worry that changed to relief once his gaze settled upon their genius brother.

Because Leonardo had been acting so squirrely, and Raphael was horrible when it came to taking care of anyone, Donatello's primary care had fallen upon Michelangelo's shoulders. Raphael had occasionally helped with the heavy lifting and Leonardo had helped out every now and then when he wasn't being an idiot, but he and Leonardo had still felt guilty about Michelangelo taking on such a heavy burden by himself. That was until they had realized that Michelangelo was not only good at it, but liked it.

After a while, Raphael and Leonardo had sat back and watched as their baby brother mother henned Donatello to death. To Raphael, this was of course a simple kind of payback for all of the badgering and mother henning that Donatello had always done to them over the years when they had been either sick or injured.

"Donny, you told me you wanted to sleep and that's why you wanted me to stop reading you issue forty six of the Silver Sentry's Final Battle," Michelangelo's voice wavered with hurt and confusion. "So...so if you…if you didn't want to listen you could have just told me," Michelangelo stammered his shoulders drooped in dejection as his whole demeanour gave the impression of a lost puppy who somebody had just kicked.

Donatello, unable to go up against the overwhelming guilt produced by such a display, quietly assured Michelangelo that he, 'Of course wanted to hear how the Silver Sentry managed to foil the evil Dr. Neuron's sinister plans.'

"Really?" Michelangelo asked in a small, hopeful voice.

Donatello looked as if he was somehow biting his tongue as he lied to Michelangelo's face. "Really," he agreed with a nod.

Michelangelo's features lit up like it was Christmas, New Years and Halloween all in the same day.

Donatello blinked at the intensity of the white toothed grin Michelangelo gave him. "Great! We only have twenty-six more issues to go until that happens, not to mention the fifty-two that come afterwards," Michelangelo gushed with excitement.

Donatello threw them a look of desperate pleading, mouthing the words 'help me' as Michelangelo grabbed the handles of Donatello's wheelchair and began to roll him from the room.

Raphael only grinned more broadly as Michelangelo continued, "And then after that there is a monster movie marathon, and then tomorrow we can play Defender 4, which just came out and I have been dying to play. And then..."

Reaching out, Raphael snagged the toaster as Donatello rolled past. Donatello looked up and gave them both a death glare that promised retribution. Raphael gave Donatello a smug grin and waved bye-bye, watching as his brothers disappeared from sight.

"Donny is never going to forgive us for this," Leonardo warned.

Raphael gave a smirk. "I know. But hey, April said Donny wasn't allowed to think too hard. There is nothing more mind-numbing than having to hang around with Mikey 24/7," he said with a chuckle. "And I'm pretty sure Mikey is loving the fact Donny is basically a captive audience."

Leonardo grinned and nodded in agreement.

Raphael walked from the supply closet, placing the toaster back on Donatello's work bench in the exact spot where it had been taken from.

He stood back, looking at the toaster. He honestly didn't care what form of payback Donatello was planning on enacting upon him, because nothing his amethyst-masked brother could ever do to him would be as painful as nearly losing him; not even listening to seventy plus issues of the Silver Sentry.

Raphael took one last look at the toaster and followed Leonardo from the room.

"We should really dust in there," Leonardo observed thoughtfully.

"Yeah, we should," Raphael agreed, knowing that hell would freeze over before any one of them would.

Raphael paused, causing Leonardo to look over his shoulder in confusion and halt his progress as well. "Donny's out of the woods, right?" Raphael asked softly.

"Yeah," Leonardo nodded, relief filling his dark brown eyes.

Raphael nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, for…you know…being an ass and blaming you for Donny getting sick and sayin' all that bad stuff to you," he apologized gruffly.

Leonardo's eye ridges rose in surprise. "I-"

"Don't say nothin', Leo," he interrupted. "Just…we're good, right?"

Leonardo turned to face him. "Yeah, Raph, we're good."

Raphael gave a firm nod of his head, walking up to and then past his cerulean-blue masked brother."Sparing match?" he asked as he passed.

Leonardo grinned. "Sure."

"I'm gonna kick your ass," Raphael taunted.

"You can try, Raph. You can try," Leonardo replied as Raphael smiled, thankful that his brothers and his friends were all safe and in his life.

I hope you all have enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!:D