Raph and Mikey Brotherly Fluff and Comfort Oneshots TMNT 2012

Chapter 4: Sick

    Training was done, and the turtles were currently in mediation to wrap it up for today when halfway through, they were disrupted by a snore. Glancing to their left, Leo, Raph, and Donnie saw Mikey, who had fallen over and immediately fallen asleep. The three oldest cast worried glances at each other. Mikey had kept on falling asleep during meditation a lot lately-about a few days, give or take. "Uh, I don't mean to sound rude or anything," said Donnie, "but has anyone noticed that Mikey's been falling asleep a lot during meditation lately?"

    "Now that you mention it," replied Leo, "he was feeling kind of sluggish during patrol last night. And that's odd; he's usually the fastest out of all of us."

    "And he nearly fell over last night," Donnie added. "Kept on insisting that it was a sudden dizzy spell or something and that he's fine." (Happened to me at home in the living room once, but it was a short one; nothing too big.)

    "And he hasn't been eating anything at all," Leo continued. "Kept saying that he wasn't that hungry."

    Raph hadn't said anything during the conversation. All that time, he couldn't help but look at Mikey, who was sleeping so peacefully he feared of waking him up with only the slightest movement. Kneeling down beside him, he saw another detail: his light green skin was looking like it was getting a bit paler. Now feeling extremity worried, he picked him up (still being careful of not waking him up, of course) and put him to bed, after which he felt his forehead.

    "Shell!" he hissed, quickly pulling back and waving his hand in the air. Mikey definitely had a fever, Raph's hand felt like it'd been burned by the oven. Now knowing what was wrong with him, he left to go tell Donnie, leaving Mikey in order to give him some space.

    Donnie was working on an experiment when Raph entered, purposely kicking the door open on his way in. The genius was about to yell at him for barging in when Raph simply said, "I know what's wrong with Mikey."

    That got Donnie's attention. "What is it?" he asked.

    "Well when I put him in bed earlier, I felt his forehead and felt that it was burning hot," Raph explained. "Before that, I also noticed that his skin was a little paler than usual."

    Donnie's face grew grim. "Must be coming down with a fever," he said. The turtles, thanks to their immune systems, hardly ever got sick. But whenever they did get sick, they took it hard. Unfortunately, Mikey always seemed to get hit the hardest when it came down to it.

    Raph was about to say something else when suddenly a loud scream sounded through the lair, getting both of the turtles' attention. "Mikey!" Raph exclaimed before racing out.

    When Raph finally reached Mikey's room, he yanked the door open to see no one, but Mikey was tossing and turning on the bed screaming bloody murder, his back arched and his blankets tangled around his body. His concern for Mikey spiking through the roof, Raph carefully made his way through the room (because Mikey's room always looked like a tornado went through) and arrived at the bed. He grabbed Mikey's shoulders and shook him hard. "Mikey! Mikey, wake up! It's just a fever dream! Wake up!"

    Suddenly, Mikey awoke with a gasp as his eyes shot open. Having a very sick feeling, he jumped out of bed, shoving Raph onto the floor in the process, and raced as fast as he could to the restroom. Raph sat there shocked for a second before leaping up, carefully making his way through the mess, and raced after his baby brother, getting to the restroom just as he heard Mikey throw up what little he had for dinner.

    Mikey leaned back once he was done, too weak to get back up. He heard footsteps coming towards him and heard the bowl flush, but he made no move to open his eyes. Then, he felt strong, safe arms wrap around him, pulling him close to a strong, firm chest and onto someone's lap. Somehow knowing that it was Raph, Mikey turned until his face was buried in his neck and started to cry, his emotions catching up. Raph made no move; he just sat there holding his baby brother when Leo came in, having heard the commotion. He was surprised to see Mikey sobbing and looking ill, and he was more surprised to see Raph hugging him. But as he saw Raph glance up at him, one look from the hothead told him everything. Understanding, Leo went in front of Mikey and knelt down to his eye level. "You feeling okay, Mikey?" he whispered as he gently patted his shoulder, not wanting to startle him.

    Mikey didn't say anything. All he could do was shake his head no, feeling rather pathetic. He'd stopped crying the moment he heard him, but that didn't stop the sick feeling. Leo understood what he was saying, however, and was about to ask what he could do to help when Donnie arrived with a thermometer to check his body temperature. "Can you open your mouth for me, Mikey?" he asked.

    Mikey complied. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Donnie to stick the thermometer in. It was a little while before a beep was heard. Donnie took it out and checked it. "100.3," he read. "Yep. He definitely has a fever. No training for you for a while, Mikey."

    "Aw, man," Mikey groaned softly.

    "Look on the bright side, little buddy," Raph said, nuzzling him on the cheek. "With plenty of rest, you'll feel better in no time."

    "We'll all make sure of that," Leo added with a smile.

    Mikey smiled a little as he snuggled closer to Raph, the hothead tightening his hold on the youngest in return. Donnie held his hand while Leo patted his shoulder again. After a while, Mikey yawned, showing that he was staring to feel sleepy. Raph chuckled. "Back to bed with you, kid," he said as he picked him up and carried him down the hall, upon which Mikey immediately wrapped his arms around Raph's neck.

    Leo smiled at the sight before turning to Donnie. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

    "Not really," Donnie replied. "But you can go get a bowl of water and a rag for Mikey's forehead. I'm gonna go get some medicine."

    Leo nodded and left to get the needed supplies while Donnie went to his lab. Meanwhile, Raph had gotten Mikey to his room and had just put him to bed when there was a knock at the doorway. He glanced at that direction to see Leo enter. "Donnie figured that Mikey would want this," he said, handing him the water bowl and rag.

    Raph nodded his thanks as he took the supplies and went back to Mikey's side. Leo smiled as he went to his room to retire for the night. Mikey was almost asleep when he felt Raph place the rag onto his forehead, the cool water feeling like relief. He reached out and gently hugged his arm, nuzzling his face into it with a purr, much to Raph's amusement. "Ice Cream Kitty sure does teach you to act like her, doesn't she?" he said, chuckling.

    Mikey didn't say anything at first. His eyes slowly opened like a cat's, baby blues bright with fever as he looked up at his older brother. "Stay, please?" he barely whispered.

    Raph smiled. "Anything for you, little brother," he said as he hugged him, Mikey keeping the contact, just content to snuggle closer to this part of security.

    Soon, Donnie arrived with the medicine-and a bucket, just in case. "Is he awake enough?" he asked.

    "Hopefully," Raph replied, glancing down at the youngest. "He's almost asleep at this point."

    Donnie nodded, understanding. "Hey Mikey," he whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. "Got your medicine."

    Sleepily, Mikey managed to take it-and grimaced at the taste. "Forgot to warn you about that taste," Donnie chuckled.

    Raph shook his head, but couldn't help but smirk. "I'll let you know if something else happens," he said, rubbing Mikey's head. "For now, I'm sure he'll be fine."

    Donnie nodded before he left, closing the door after them, but not before reminding Raph to give Mikey his medicine again as soon as he woke up. Mikey nuzzled Raph's arm again, making the hothead smile at his direction. "Let me guess: you want me to stay," he said.

    Mikey nodded. "I want to cuddle," he said sleepily.

    Raph chuckled as he laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over them both. Mikey immediately curled into Raph's chest, finally content as he fell asleep. Raph smiled and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in closer. "Don't worry, little buddy," he whispered to his baby brother, kissing him on the forehead. "You'll feel better in no time."

    I never got to say this yet, so Happy Late New Year's, fellow readers! Hope you came up with pretty good New Year's resolutions!