Lost in the Fight

Chapter 19 - Leo's Lullaby

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Special Note: Huge thanks to my amazingly talented friend, CorolineThePheonix, for creating the awesome cover art for this chapter. It's perfection!

*Author's Notes: Chapter 19 of 'Lost in the Fight' is here and this one features the first of several flashbacks in the story. It happens to be one of my very favorite chapters. I hope you like it, too.

As always, thank you to everyone who has read, voted on, and commented on this story. Your kindness is very much appreciated. If you are enjoying 'LITF,' please continue to vote and/or comment. Thank you so much for reading. ;) CJ

--------------------------

Chapter 19 - Leo's Lullaby

If not for his racked nerves and his sworn commitment and moral sense of duty to watch over his wounded brother, the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor would have most likely lulled Leonardo to sleep by now. Raphael and Michelangelo had been begrudgingly dragged off to bed several hours ago, once Master Splinter had upgraded Donatello's condition to slightly less critical.

Thanks to the aid of medication and ice packs, Donnie's fever had come down some, although it was still up over a hundred degrees. Subsequently, his heart rate had leveled off at a more acceptable level, much to their relief. Plus, Master Splinter was feeling more and more confident that the lungs were not punctured, which was making them all breathe a little easier. Well, all except for Donatello . . .

Despite the fact that Donatello was still mostly unconscious, he had suffered from several painful to witness coughing fits during the past few hours. While it was horrific to watch him go through such agony whenever he coughed, there was no sign of blood in the sputum produced by his hacking bouts. Though they normally would have thought it gross to be examining wads of phlegm, right now, the gunk from Donnie's chest was granting them some hope. The greenish-yellowish mucus that the injured turtle had been coughing up was leading Master Splinter to believe that the contributing cause of the excessive chest congestion hindering Donatello's breathing was some form of pneumonia, and not a collapsed lung as he had feared. Sensei had also claimed that this would explain why Donatello had been feverish before leaving the lair. Of course, it wasn't a good thing that Donnie had pneumonia, as an infection of the lungs could be potentially lethal. Especially given his weakened condition . . . But pneumonia was at least treatable and wasn't the automatic death sentence that the punctured lung would have been.

Leonardo sighed, staring down at his frail little brother who was lying on the cot stationed in the infirmary. Donnie looked so different without his purple mask on. It made him look far more fragile and vulnerable. The oldest turtle was almost too afraid to touch his broken brother, for fear that he might hurt him more than he already had.

Shaking his head in disgust, Leo once again admonished himself for his sins.

How could I possibly hurt him anymore?

Donnie had been resting peacefully for a good half hour now. His labored, ugly-sounding breathing was the only noise he was currently making, as opposed to earlier, when he was hacking or hoarsely moaning and whimpering in his sleep. Leo just hoped that the respite would last, because he couldn't stand hearing and seeing his younger brother in so much pain. It was sheer torture for the oldest turtle to watch, knowing that he was responsible for all of this.

Using a damp washcloth, Leonardo gently dabbed away the rivulets of sweat that had accrued along his brother's brow. As he continued to swab Donatello's forehead, Leo glanced down at the oxygen mask pulled snugly over his little brother's face and grimaced over how uncomfortable it looked. One side of the mask was pushing against Donatello's badly swollen eye and the sight made the older turtle want to rip the device off, but he knew that it was doing his brother more good than harm at this point, providing him with the precious oxygen that he was struggling to take into his obstructed lungs.