Little Miracle

Twenty

\Faith/

Donnie's POV
============

I stood up, giving a slight smile to my older brothers.

"You guys should go on to breakfast. I'll get Mikey to the lab," I said, practically pushing them out the door. I waited until I heard them leave before turning back to Mikey.

I sat down next to his sleeping figure, tears sliding down my face. "Don't do this to yourself, Mikey. Don't make yourself. It hurts, and it doesn't just hurt you. It hurts Leo and Raph, too. But it..."

I trailed off to take a breath, then continued. "It hurts me most. I don't care what they say. They weren't there. They didn't go through what we went through. Heck, I don't even know what all you went through. But you're a miracle, Mikey. A tiny, little, perfect miracle. I want us to forget all of this. Every single little thing. I want to forget the way I had beat you with.... with the.... with the staff. I want to forget that. I want to forget how starved you were when I saw you. I want to forget that. I want to forget every detail. Every. Dang. Detail."

I wiped my face, scolding myself for crying. Mikey doesn't need me to cry like this. He needs me to be a big brother. His big brother.

I stood up to carry him to the lab, but something caught my eye. I turned around and saw it. A picture of me, Leo, and Raph. It was hanging on his wall.

I shook my head and forced myself to turn away, scooping up my little brother protectively and leaving his room.

"You'll be fine, Mikey. Remember what you promised me? Back at Shredder's lair? You said that you would keep the faith. I don't know if you can hear me, but you gotta keep that promise. Don't do this to yourself because of what happened. I don't know if that's why you're doing this, but you have to stop. You have to let your body heal. We're here for you. I'm here for you," I said, using one hand to open the lab doors.

I gently carried Mikey over to the cot, setting him down just so. I checked his injuries before determining them okay. I slipped out of the lab and to the kitchen, joining my two older brother in breakfast. Which they hadn't touched.

I scooped up part of my eggs, chewing it slowly. "These are good, you guys," I said, trying to break the cut-able tension.

"Mikey made those," Leo said numbly, poking at them. "He made them with his hands."

I gulped slowly, also losing my appetite. I knew what Leo meant. Mikey shouldn't have made these. It must have hurt him unbearably.

But at least that will heal.

I pushed the thought out of my mind, concentrating on anything else besides that.

I imagined April, but that didn't help. I kept thinking about her eyes, which were so similar to Mikey's.

I thought about pizza, but that really didn't help. Mikey's favorite food is pizza.

I pictured Sensei, but to no avail. Mikey was so sad when he left, worrying about everything that could go wrong.

He even suggested that the Foot Clan had developed flying footbots that would chase after him.

I cleared my throat and picked up the plates, scraping the food into the trash and putting the dishes in the sink. I wiped my hands on my legs, noticing how Raph and Leo hadn't moved at all.

"Guys, are you okay? Mikey will wake up in an hour. He'll be okay," I said. I was trying to reassure them, but I guess it didn't work so well.

"Okay? Okay?! You said he would never get past this, Donnie. How is that okay?!" Leo snapped, slamming his hands on the table. Raph just stared at where his plate was, numb.

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed, hating how it was my injuries that weren't severe. All of them were gone, practically.

"I said he might never get past this. There is a possibility that he could."

"But what's the chance of that possibility? Low? Extremely low? Maybe you're even lying about there being a possibility?" Raph growled. Both pairs of eyes locked onto mine, desperate.

I held back a sigh. "Yeah, the chance is low. The chance is really, really low. In fact, it is so freaking low that its not even a half of a percent! He might be traumatized for life! He could have panic attacks for as long as he's alive! He may be triggered by the slightest of things! I'm doing my absolute, god freaking best! But I have hope. I really do. I have faith in Mikey."

"I have faith that he'll get past this. I know Mikey, and I know he'll try too. He's strong. He's stronger than any of us know, than any of us will ever know. He lived through that! He could've broken down after the first thing- and I don't even know what it was- and told Shredder what he wanted to know. Heck, he could've broken down before the first thing ever happened. But he didn't! He stuck through it all! For us! For his family! He even made me do something that I will never forget, just to keep us safe. And you know what? When I first saw Mikey, I had half a mind to tell Shredder where the lair was. But Mikey convinced me not to."

I inhaled, ignoring the looks of shock I was receiving. "So the least we could do is support him through this. We have to be there for him."

Leo and Raph stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

I smiled at them and sat down, right between both of them, and said, "We just need to have faith."