Archive of Our Own

Title: Ice and Survival     
Day: Whumpuary 2023 Day 3: Hypothermia/“stay with me”/gunshot 
Word Count: 14030
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating:  T 
Characters: Donatello, Raphael   
Warning:  Blood, at least a little.  
Summary: They should have never gone out exploring in the woods. Now Don’s been shot, the temperature is dropping, a storm is moving in, the farmhouse is too far away, and Raphael has to figure out how to keep both him and his brother alive.    
Notes: A few headcanons that I have in here: All of the boys are more than competent in first aid and beyond; they all have more survival skills and are more competent in more areas then we see in the show; they’re a weird mix of cold and warm blooded that probably can’t actually work, but is going to work here anyway. Also, someone please teach these boys to consistently wear winter clothes when they go out in the snow, please. 

Ice and Survival

It was a stupid, stupid, stupid idea. Hadn’t they learned anything the last time, when Mikey had gotten the attention of that crazy doctor monster hunting lady? Sure, Raph had been helping Leo with his swords at the time, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t heard the whole story. Casey had certainly been vocal enough about it, especially after spending so long locked in the back of that woman’s truck in all that grass and stuff. They should have known better than to go off like this.

But no, for whatever reason, he and Donnie had gotten in their brains to go exploring in the woods in the middle of winter, without any gear, and now look at them. Raph had a brother half draped over his shell, trying to make sure he stayed conscious and didn’t bleed out from a gunshot in his thigh, while still having to avoid the guy who shot them and his dogs.

And all because he was restless and wanted to get out, and Donnie had some sort of scientific something or other that he wanted to investigate.

Stupid. Stupid the both of them.

Mentally, Raph cursed. Don’s breath hitched in pain with every move he made, and Raph could still hear the dogs somewhere behind them, closing in. It wasn’t as if they were hard to track. They were slow and leaving a trail of blood in the snow. They needed to try to stop the bleeding but stopping at all meant letting the dogs and the farmer catch up with them. They needed to find someplace to hide. Ideally, they’d make it back to the farmhouse, but Raph was sure that was too far away.

And, of course, a storm was blowing in. If Raph could spare the time, he’d curse their turtle luck.

“We need… we need to lose them,” Don gasped out, around the pain. Raph tightened his hold on his brother.

“Tell me something I don’t know genius,” Raph said, the sarcasm falling almost automatically. “I’m open to suggestions.”

Don shifted, and it almost unbalanced them, Raph having to readjust quickly to make sure he didn’t drop his brainy brother. “Shell, Don, what are ya—”

“In my bag,” Donnie said. “I have something that… might do the trick…”

Of course, he did. Raph should have expected that. If Don had his magic bag of tricks with him, then it was likely he had something to help any situation. The stupid pigeon puppet had taught all of them that.

“We’ll need… need to move fast. Make it difficult for them to… to follow us.” Don looked at Raph, something clutched in his hand. “Think you can carry me?”

If someone didn’t know Don, that leap might have seemed a bit dramatic. But Raph knew his brother, and he knew that, instead of explaining that he couldn’t run in his current state, Don skipped right over that and onto the solution, not bothering to feel embarrassed about it. Raph knew that if Don jumped to a request or a solution, there was always an explanation there, and a reasonable one, even if he didn’t explain it then.

Raph nodded. “Yeah, for a bit I can. But what about the bleedin’? We’re still leavin’ a trail.”

“After I throw them, I’ve got some—ngh—gauze to press to it. It… won’t last for long, but it should do to—to at least put some distance between us.”

It didn’t sound like it was enough of a solution, but Raph trusted Don. There was probably more to his plan than he had said, but not enough time for him to explain it. That was alright by Raph. He’d get it all later.

He nodded. “Whatever ya say, Donnie.”

Don nodded. “Alright. When I throw these… it’ll be go time, alright?”

Raph glanced at the rather innocuous looking white spheres in Don’s hand and nodded. “Yeah, I gotcha, Donnie.”

The dogs were getting closer now, and Raph knew that Don could hear them as clearly as he could. Raph crouched slightly, ready to pick up his brother the second that he threw the spheres. Every instinct screamed at him to go now, to run, to flee, but his training and his trust in Donnie was better than that.

“Get ready,” Don murmured, as the dogs drew close enough to see.

Raph’s muscles coiled, like a spring waiting to move. He didn’t think ahead, didn’t try to plan or see what was happening. He simply waited for the right moment to react. The dogs grew closer, outpacing their master. When they were only about three yards away from them, Don threw down the spheres. As soon as Raph had seen Don’s arm move to throw them, he was already in motion, scooping up his brother in a fireman’s carry. The spheres exploded, letting out some sort of gas. Raph didn’t know what it was, but he did pick up a spicy sort of scent from it, as well as something that almost seemed like ammonia. It wasn’t important, though. Getting Donnie out of here was.

He took off running the moment he felt Don was secure, leaving the yelping dogs behind them and ignoring Don’s grunt of pain. Don’s bag swung around too, thumping on the back of his shell and his thighs. He could feel Don shifting and figured that he was putting pressure on the wound. That would help with leaving a trail of blood, but even ninja left footprints in the snow.

Don also wasn’t unaware of this problem. “The trees,” he hissed out between clenched teeth. He wasn’t trying to be quiet, Raph could tell. That was pain in his voice, and Raph felt a little bad knowing that it was his rough treatment that was making it worse. But survival was more important than momentary pain.

“I dunno if they’ll hold both our weight,” Raph said back.

“Trunks will,” Don gasped out. “Sit me on a branch.”

“I’m not leaving ya defenseless,” Raph said.

He felt a thump on his shell. “I’m not defenseless… you goob. You can… scout.”

Alright, Raph had to admit that was a good point. Besides, even though whatever he had done had slowed down the dogs and their master, it wasn’t going to stop them. They needed a different plan. Spying a couple of good trees, Raph headed towards them, adjusting Donnie’s weight as he did. Don let him, knowing that he was preparing for the jump. He lept, using momentum to bounce between the two trees until he got to higher branches. He could feel the weight of them trying to give under his feet, under the weight of two turtles, and he kept moving, doing his best to hop a couple of trees over.

When he stopped, he very quickly lowered Donnie to a sturdy looking branch and transferred his weight to another one. Don shifted his weight to balance himself out, keeping one hand pressed on his thigh. The two stayed silent, blending into the shadows as much as possible. The wind cut through the trees, rustling the needles of the evergreen they were in, and shaking the empty branches of other trees. The sun moved deeper behind the clouds, giving them more cover, and snow began to fall, starting to cover up their tracks. The dogs’ yelps had ceased, and a faint rumble of a man’s voice could be heard. Neither ninja moved, holding so still they might as well have been part of the tree they were in, blending into their environment.

Finally, when they could hear man or dogs no more, Raph moved. “Gonna go check it out,” he said, barely above a whisper. Don nodded, and Raph took off.

He moved as silently as he could through the trees, taking as much care as he could not to knock off too much snow or disturb too much wildlife. He didn’t want to do anything that would give away his position.

He backtracked to where they had last seen the dogs, seeing no one between where he had left Don and that spot. There were plenty of tracks there, as if a group had trampled over that area several times. Making sure no one was around, Raph jumped down to examine the tracks. There was a set that brought them to this spot, of course, but it looked as if there was also a set that lead away, back the way that they had come. Not wanting to even risk being seen, Raph made his way back into the trees, and followed the tracks for a bit. They seemed as if the farmer and his dogs had given up and gone back home, and, after following them for about ten minutes, Raph concluded that it was exactly what they had done. Tracking them any further would be pointless and besides, the snow was staring to fill in the tracks.

No longer as concerned about being unseen, Raph turned and made his way through the trees back to where he had left Don. It took him much less time, which was great, because Raph couldn’t help the worry that ran through him. Don was injured, bleeding, and Raph was no idiot—the snowfall wasn’t a good sign. They were in trouble.

He laid eyes on Don almost immediately when he got near the tree he had left him on. Raph frowned to himself. Donnie was great at stealth when he was focused. If a situation required it, or if he was focused on it, he could stay hidden longer than the rest of them. The fact that Raph could find him so quickly was worrying. It meant that Donnie wasn’t hiding as well as he could.

Raph landed on a branch near the one Don was on. Don had his eyes closed, but his breathing was even and steady. There was a fresh bandage around his leg, showing Raph that Don hadn’t been idle, at least. The breathing was reassuring too. That kind of breathing was controlled, which meant Don was still with it.

“Donnie?” he said softly. Don’s eyes opened, landing directly on his. Of course, he had been aware the entire time Raph was there. Raph should have figured that.

“Any problems?” Don asked, keeping his voice soft.

Raph shook his head. “No. Looks like after yer little trick, they decided to go home.”

Raph could see the relief pass across Don’s face. “It was honestly probably the weather that turned them back,” he said. He frowned as he looked at the snow that was accumulating on the branches—and on them. “It’s falling fast. This isn’t good weather to be out in.”

Raph frowned. “Think we can make it back to the farm before it gets bad?”

Don shook his head. “No, not with how fast it’s falling.”

“If I carry ya, would that help?” Raph asked.

Don shook his head again. “It’s not about my wound,” he said, grimacing a little as he tried to shift and pain clearly ran through him. “It’s about time. The snow is falling faster, and the temperature is already dropping. It’ll get bad long before we get back to the farmhouse even if I wasn’t currently shot.”

Raph’s frown deepened. None of what he was saying was good, and it was all made worse by Don’s gunshot wound.

“So, what can we do?” he asked, knowing that Donnie would have already been thinking this through. “Call for backup? See how far we get? Build an igloo?”

Don gave a strained smile at the last one but shook his head. “The storm interferes with the Shell Cell signal. I didn’t think to compensate for that out here. Signals are harder to come by out here then they are in the city,” Don said. “And while we could start construction on an igloo, I’m afraid that the storm would get bad long before we could even get a proper foundation built.” He twisted his head around to look towards the farm. “Our best bet is to start moving and keep moving. With any luck, our movement will help with keeping us warm, and the others will start looking for us soon.”

“And if that don’t work?” Raph asked, pretty sure he didn’t want to hear the answer.

“It’s the only option we have,” Don said, all mirth fading from his eyes.

Raph nodded. “Alright. Then we’d better get movin’ while we can.”

Donnie looked down, and then looked at his leg. “I’m gonna need a little help with that,” he said with a grimace.

It was a little difficult maneuvering Donnie back into Raph’s hold and getting him down to the ground. Going up had been easier. Raph had momentum and started out with solid ground. Going down was a test in the strength of the tree branches and how light he was on his feet.

Still, the trip had left Donnie grimacing in pain, and his leg and given out the moment Raph had set him down. Fortunately, it hadn’t taken long for the pain to fade enough for Don to get his leg back under him and for the two of them to set off. Raph slung Donnie’s arm over his shoulder and wrapped his hand around Don’s belt for added support. Don used his bo as a walking staff and relinquished his bag of tricks to Raph. It was nowhere near perfect, but it was the best they could do.

It quickly became clear, though, that they were in serious trouble. The wind was icy, cutting right through them. It stung them in the face with snow that was slowly turning to ice. It never ceased blowing, and the snow never stopped falling. It fell heavier and heavier, even as it turned into an icy mix. Don was pushing himself as fast as he could, but it hadn’t escaped Raph’s notice how his brother had fallen quieter and quieter as they moved, nor the tremble that had started up about thirty minutes into their walk. Every once in a while, Raph was able to catch a glimpse of the bandages. They had been steadily turning red for the past thirty minutes, and Raph was afraid that if they didn’t do something soon, then Don would bleed out.

Raph grit his teeth. That wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t let it.

After what felt like hours, they emerged from the trees near the creek that ran through the property. The waters were flowing fairly well, but they looked cold, and rough with the wind. Along the banks ice was already starting to build. Raph had no idea if this creek froze over completely in the winter or not. They had crossed it earlier that day, leaping across a narrower spot, but Raph couldn’t recall if there was any ice along the edges then or not. He had been busy teasing Don about something or other.

“We’re… we’re going to need… to cross,” Donnie said, his voice tight with pain. A shudder ran through him, and Raph pulled him tighter against himself.

“I know,” Raph said, eying the water. “It’s too wide for me to jump with ya here.”

Don nodded his head, indicating someplace further down the creek. “There’s a spot… down that way. ‘S narrower. The na… narrowest Mikey and I… found.”

Raph frowned at the way Donnie was speaking, not liking the pauses or the slurred words, but said nothing about it. Instead, he turned them both to look down the creek. “Donnie, that’s the opposite way we need to go.”

Don gave a one-shouldered shrug. “…Gotta cross somewhere.”

He was right, and Raph knew it, but he didn’t have to like it. Instead, he just turned them and headed back down the creek. As they made their way, part of him wondered why Don didn’t steer them towards that narrow part to begin with. It would have made this backtracking unnecessary. More of him worried that Donnie not anticipating this meant his stubborn brother was worse off than he was admitting to. Was the blood loss more than Raph thought? Was the cold getting to him more because of the blood loss? Raph wasn’t sure, but it worried him.

Stupid dumb stubborn brothers who can’t admit when they’re hurt or how hurt they are. Never mind that he was the same way, it irritated Raph nonetheless.

The only good thing about going along the creek in the opposite direction was that they weren’t facing directly into the wind anymore. It was still absolutely freezing, but it wasn’t stinging their faces and their eyes, at least. But Raphael didn’t need Donnie to tell him that this was cutting into their time. Every step further away from the farm was a decreasing their chances of survival, and they both knew it. And, at least to Raph’s mind, this was taking far too long. He was just about to stop them both and try to convince Don to just go ahead and cross when Don pointed with one of his fingers, the others staying wrapped around his bo staff.

“Right there,” he said. “…at the bend.”

The bend was only another two dozen or so yards away, and Raph nodded. “Alright. We’ll cross there. And then it’s just followin’ the stream back to where we were and headin’ towards the farm.”

Don gave him a tired grin. “Pretty much,” he said.

They continued towards the bend, Raph impatient to get there, but doing his best not to rush Donnie. He didn’t think that his brother could move faster right now. He was relying more and more on Raph and his staff, not to mention the tremble that was running through him. Don could only go so quickly.

It took them longer than either of them would have liked to get there, but by the time they did, it was clear to Raph that Don needed a break. He eased his brother down on the icy snow, handing him his bag, and then went to look at the creek. It was narrow enough that he should be able to jump it with Donnie. He’d definitely jumped gaps bigger than that between buildings. He’d jumped ones about that size while carrying things. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that much different with Donnie.

“Think… you can do it?” Don asked him.

Raph glanced back over his shoulder at his brother. He was already wrapping more gauze around the gunshot wound, hands not idle even now, even they were shaking. “I think so,” Raph said. “Maybe. Lemme see yer bo for a second.”

Don surrendered his bo to Raph, and Raph approached the edge of the creek, poking a bit at the snow and ice nearby. He’d learned early on to check for false edges that the snow created when jumping buildings. He figured the same principles applied here. Sure enough, near the edge of where he would have lept from, there was a place that looked solid, but was really an overhang of snow and ice. Carefully, he brushed it away, so he could clearly see the solid edge.

The problem was the other side. He couldn’t reach over there to do the same. The bo wasn’t long enough, and he couldn’t risk a misstep. If the opposite side had an overhang as much as this side had, Raph wasn’t sure if he could make the jump with Donnie. Although, the bo might have given Raph another idea.

“Hey, Don. How much weight do ya think yer bo can hold?”

Donnie blinked up at him seemingly perplexed for a moment until he caught on to what Raph was thinking. “It’ll be harder to use it as a pole vault if you’re carrying me,” he said with a frown. “But it pole vaulting would be more of a guaranteed cross.”

“Do ya think it’ll work?” Raph said.

Don considered it. “No,” he said. “Not with both of us. I think the risk is too much. But if we each did it, then I think we could.”

Rest, Raph couldn’t help but note, seemed to have done Donnie some good. His voice was still tight with pain, but he wasn’t gasping out his words at the moment. Still, Raph wasn’t forgetting that his brother was injured.

“Can ya do it, though?” Raph asked. “With yer leg, I mean.”

“I think we have to try,” Don replied, and that was that.

After tossing a few rocks across to see if and where the false edge on the other side was, the two readied themselves. Raph went first, to make sure that that the ground was solid, and to be ready to catch and assist Donnie if needed. He took the bag, took the bo, and ran a couple of steps before leaping, thrusting the bo down in the middle of the creek and using it to give him an extra boost across. The landing was a little slippery, but not too bad. Still, he made sure to clear it out as best he could for Donnie, before throwing the bo back across the creek like a javelin. Donnie, of course, caught it. He readied himself, using the bo to stand, and then delicately balancing on the edge. He wasn’t going to take a running start but rely on his good leg to give him the boost he needed. With a moment to gather himself, Don, pushed off the bank with his good leg, landing the bo solidly in the middle of the creek.

For a moment, it seemed as if it would work. At least, until it was clear that the arc was off, and Don’s aim was off course. He tried to compensate by shifting his weight, and it almost worked. But the shift had cost him, and he landed bad leg first onto the very edge of the bank, just slightly off from where Raph was. the bank crumbled under his weight, his bad leg gave out, and Donatello fell.

Raph made a grab for him, but he was just a touch too far, falling at just too fast a pace, and Don went splashing down into the icy creek.

“Donnie!” Raph’s shout split the air, rising over the wind, even as he scrambled down the bank.

The creek, fortunately, wasn’t that deep, coming, at most, midway up the calf. Don was already sitting up in the water, grimacing in pain, and trying, and failing, to get his legs under him so he could get out of the frigid flow. Raph splashed into the water too, hissing as the cold hit his feet and legs, but not letting it stop him. He reached for Don, pulling him up out of the water and hauling him onto the bank.

“Shell. Shell, shell, shell, shell!” Raph cursed as he tried to look over his brother. Don was soaked. This was bad. This was really bad. Donatello was already wounded, bleeding, and now he was soaked, and they were in the middle of a snowstorm—or maybe it was an ice storm by now, Raph wasn’t sure—too far from any sort of shelter.

Don was shivering violently now, and Raph desperately looked around for anything that he could help wipe off the water with. He whipped Don’s bag around and violently tore through it, trying to find something, anything, that would help. There were some old, greasy rags in the bottom, and Raph pulled them out, running them over Don’s body, trying to soak up as much of the water as he could before it froze to his skin.

“G-g-g-get your-your fee-fee—”

“Stop talkin’,” Raph demanded. “I’ll get my feet too, but right now I’m more concerned about you.”

Don shook his head, but Raph didn’t even let him try to explain himself. He just kept wiping him down until he was dry as he could get. Then he went after his own, frozen feet. This was bad. This was really bad. They needed shelter and warmth now. The farm was too far away. That old man with the dogs was at least just as far away. Maybe there was some other place nearby, or he could find them a bluff and build a fire, maybe try for that igloo. But they couldn’t keep going like this—

Don’s ice-cold hand grasped his arm, and Raph nearly jumped out of his skin from how cold it was. He knelt and wrapped himself around Don as best he could, trying to shield him from the worst of the wind and ice. “Donnie?”

“C-c-cave,” Don said. He raised a shaking hand and pointed up the creek. “Ssssaw one wh…when we were… walking…”

A cave? That was promising. It was better than this, anyway. If it was out of the wind, Raph could build a fire for them in there. He’d need to do something. He could already tell that Don was way too cold.

“Alright, we’ll head that way,” Raph said. “But yer in no shape to walk.”

He shifted around, maneuvering Don, and Don didn’t protest, just hissed in pain. Raph wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t have the energy to, or because he knew it was useless to argue. He hoped it was the latter. With the bag hanging in front of him, Donnie draped on his shoulders, and the bo staff that Don had somehow managed to hang on to for extra support, Raph set out.

The cave had to be somewhere between the bend they had tried to jump across, and where they had first found the creek. Raph wasn’t sure how far it was in feet or yards, but he it had felt like at least ten minutes of walking. Don had been moving at a slow pace then, though, so Raph wasn’t sure if he could really base an estimate off of that. Still, it was all that he had, and so he worked with it. Hopefully in five minutes they’d have a place to rest.

Raph pushed out through the storm, struggling as the wind had increased and the temperature had dropped. His one comfort was that Don didn’t feel like a dead weight on him, and he could feel his breath. But he could also feel just how cold his brother was, and that pushed him to keep going, despite how numb his feet were growing. He was so focused on moving, that he almost missed the cave. It was only Don’s tug on his mask tails that brought it to his attention.

“Th-th-there…” Don said, pointing.

The cave was hard to see, partially hidden by bigger rocks blocking its entrance, and the plants around it. From the outside Raph couldn’t tell how big it was, but even if it was shallow, it would be something.

“How the shell’d ya spot that from the other side?” Raph asked.

He felt Don shrug. “L-l-luck.”

“Our luck doesn’t have the best track record,” Raph disagreed. He knelt and lowered Don down to the ground, only letting go when he was sure Donnie could stay standing for just a few moments. “Stay here, frozen one. I’m gonna make sure we’re not about the be Goldilocks to some bear.”

Don nodded and leaned on his staff. “F-f-flashl-light in th...the bag.”

“I gotcha, Brainiac.”

Making sure Donnie wasn’t about to just fall over, Raph took out the flashlight and carefully entered the cave. The entrance was bigger than he realized. It would have been able to fit one of their shellcycles and side cars through it, albeit carefully. The inside was dry, and the wind was blocked out. There seemed to be some signs of habitation, but there was nothing there now, and Raph wasn’t about to turn down what might be their only salvation. If an animal came, he’d deal with it then, somehow. Donnie was his priority now.

Heading back outside, he quickly returned to his brother’s side. Donnie was still standing, leaning heavily on his staff, but Raph didn’t like the look of him. He was pale, swaying slightly, and looked out of it. Worry settled in Raph’s stomach and hastened his steps.

“Looks like it’s clear, Brainiac. Let’s get ya inside,” he said.

Very slowly, Donnie nodded, and Raph placed himself under Don’s arm, coaxing his brother into following him in. Being out of the wind and ice was a relief, but Don’s skin felt like ice to Raph, and that he didn’t like at all. Carefully, Raph led Don to the back of the cave, where it seemed to be the warmest, and helped him sit down. Don grimaced in pain as he did, clearly still hurting.

“Alright, Donnie,” Raph said as he removed Don’s wet mask, belt and pads. The less frozen things on him the better. “What’s our next steps? We found shelter. What’s next?”

Raph had a plan himself, but Don’s somewhat vacant look worried him. Like Leo, the best thing to do to get him more aware was to get him thinking again. The easiest way to do that with both of them was to set them on a problem, specifically one that required steps.

Don’s brow furrowed. “Um… h-h-heat. W-w-we n-need h-h-heat.”

“Okay, that makes sense. How do I do that?” Raph asked, keeping his voice patient and calm.

“T-t-tinder k-k-it in b-b-bag,” Don said. “J-j-just n-need… f-fuel f-f-f-.”

“For longer, yeah, I getcha, don’t stress yerself out tryin’ to talk.” Raph interrupted him even he was kneeling to dig through Don’s bag. Of course, Don would have a tender kit. Don was always prepared. But that brought Raph to another problem—Fuel.

Fuel would mean something to burn. There wasn’t much in here, and with that storm out there it’d be hard to find anything. Shell. What was he going to do? Even if he set about burning their gear, that wouldn’t last long. Raph glanced toward the entrance of the cave. The storm was getting worse out there. Going out in it was asking for hypothermia, especially for someone like him. Even a strictly warm-blooded animal would have problems in that weather. But if he didn’t go… Raph looked back at Don. He was pale, ice decorating his skin, and shivering violently. As much as he didn’t want to leave Don here alone in the shape he was in, not getting something for a fire was as good as a death sentence. It might even be as good as a death sentence for Raph, and he wasn’t injured and didn’t fall in water.

Don must have read his mind, because he reached out, grasping Raph’s wrist, and struggling to say something. Raph held still, listening.

“D-d-dead w…wood,” he stuttered out. “...’s…dr..dry.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, rummaging through Don’s bag for the tools that he’d need. Don had, of course, a rather large knife in a sheath, which would be useful, as well as some rope. The bag itself would be useful as well. He reached in pulling out all of the stuff Don had stuffed in it. He’d use the bag to gather as much wood as he could. “But ya gotta stay here and stay back from that entrance. I can take care of myself. I don’t need ya gettin’ colder, got it?”

Donnie nodded, tremors of shivers still running through him, and Raph was satisfied with that. He stood, pulling Don’s bag over his chest again, and braced himself, heading out.

The wind felt twice as icy to him now, and he could feel his skin being pelted with small bits of ice. This had easily gone from a snowstorm to something closer to an ice storm, and Raph knew he had to be quick. Not only did he need to get out of the elements and warm back up as quickly as possible, but he needed to find dry, dead wood before it got iced over.

Maybe the old turtle luck had decided to be kind to him for once, or maybe it was like Master Splinter said, and their ancestors were watching over them—although Raph had kinda always wondered if that mean Master Yoshi, or if it mean their turtle ancestors, but he figured in the end it really didn’t matter—but Raph was able to find a dead tree rather quickly. It was half fallen already, which Raphael was grateful for. It made it a lot easier for him to break off parts of the branches and stuff what he could in the bag. What he couldn’t break off, he used to knife to hack at, cutting off what he could. It wasn’t as good a as an axe or a hatchet, or even one of Leo’s swords would be, but it did well enough to get what he needed.

He could feel himself becoming colder and colder, especially without Donnie’s body heat right next to him. Still, he wasn’t going to go back with a half-done job, and so he worked quickly, ignoring his own shivering and numb feet, instead filling up the bag with as much wood as he could. Then he hacked off more and, using the rope, tied it to his shell, carrying it that way. It would, hopefully, be enough to last them. If not, he’d have to come back and see if he could get anything else out of this tree or any others, provided it hadn’t iced over.

The trek back to the cave seemed longer going to it than it had coming from it, and Raph felt himself struggling more as he trudged through the snow and ice. The cold was definitely starting to slow him down, and he grit his teeth. There was no way he was going to let some stupid storm do him in and no way he was going to let it keep him from Donnie. His brother needed him, and he wasn’t about to let him down. It didn’t matter that it was getting harder and his shivering was getting more and more violent—Raph wasn’t going to let this stop him.

He couldn’t deny, though, that it was hard. The snow and ice swirled around him, causing white outs in his vision every so often. He was operating on muscle memory more often than not, and with the amount of snow falling, the landscape was changing rapidly. He could only hope that he wasn’t getting too off course. If he could find the creek again, then hopefully he could find the cave.

A light suddenly caught his eye. It was about head-height, and it didn’t seem to be moving. Raph squinted at it. It was in the direction he was pretty sure the cave was in. There hadn’t been a light there before. Had someone found Donnie? Was that a signal to someone else? Raph didn’t know, but he picked up the pace, his hands coming down to his sai, holding tightly to them despite the cold metal. If it was a threat, he’d be ready for it.

The closer he got to the cave, though, the less he thought it was a person. The light held too steady. It was almost as if someone had turned on a light and left it on a shelf. For a moment he had a spike of fear that he had gone the wrong way, but he pushed that to the side. Even if he had, there was nothing to do right now but keep walking towards it. Whatever he found at the other end of the light, be it Donnie, or something else, he’d do what he needed to.

The light cut through the swirling winds and snow well, and it kept Raph heading straight for it. As he approached, though, he realized that it was a flashlight—Don’s flashlight—sitting in a small, sheltered area of the rocks, on and glowing brightly and steadily. Raph growled slightly, picking it up when he got close enough and heading inside the cave. Don was huddled on the back wall, curled in on himself as much as he could be and shivering. His eyes slowly opened as Raph called out his name, and half-aware eyes met his.

“Donnie. I thought I told ya to stay away from the entrance!” he snapped out. Don just sort of looked at him and didn’t say anything. Raph huffed, masking his mounting fear with annoyance, and set about preparing the wood for the fire. His hands were shaking, but there wasn’t really any other choice. He took a branch that seemed to be relatively easy to peel and reached for Don’s hands, turning them over and putting the branch in them. “Here. Make yerself useful and start peelin’ off the outer layers of that bark.”

Slowly, Don blinked at the branch and nodded. “K-k-kay…” he said, the word sounding even more slurred than before. His hands picked over it slowly, and Raph found that he didn’t like that at all.

Instead of focusing on that, though, Raph put all of his effort into building the fire. If he could get that built, then he could warm Donnie up.

A couple of years ago, Mikey had somehow convinced all of them to watch some survival show. It wasn’t some stupid one like the one on that island where it isn’t really about survival, or that one with the naked people, which Raph could never figure out the appeal of. Humans did not look good without their clothes, and as soft and unprotected as they were, why would any human want to be out in the woods like that? At least he and his brother had thick skin and shells, and Master Splinter had his fur.

Regardless, though, the show Mikey had made them watch was actually a good one. It was really about true survival, and the people on it were honest about what was available to them because of the requirements of the camera crews, and what was them really having to survive. It had sucked all of them in, and Raph actually had learned quite a bit about wilderness survival from that show. It had intrigued him enough that, once they were making regular visits to the farm, he had bugged Casey into teaching him more, and went and looked up more information himself.

Raph put that knowledge to good use now, remembering how to build the fire, and finding a good place to put it where it would vent out and not fill the cave with smoke that would kill them. It took him longer than he wanted to prepare the wood, having to strip off the outer layers of bark to get to the dry wood underneath, but even with shaking hands, he did get it done. His clumsy hands cut his fingers a few times, but he’d deal with that later. His priority was getting them some warmth.

He was also keeping an eye on Donnie as he worked. Don was moving so much slower than he was, hissing in pain when he tried to move his leg. The bandage was bloody, the blood soaking through. It would need to be changed soon, especially as it had gotten wet in the fall in the creek as well. Raph set his jaw. One thing at a time. He’d get the heat going, and then tend to his brother. Don’s condition was worrying him, but he could only do one thing at a time.

He didn’t build the fire quite as big as he wanted to, seeing as they only had so much wood, but he did turn it into a decent blaze. It would need to be, if he was to warm Donnie up. After they were warm, he could always make the next fires smaller. When it was built, Raph made sure to move Don closer to the fire. Don tried to move himself, but there was a dazed look in his eyes and delayed reactions. He was tracking what was going on, but it was like it was taking him longer to do it.

“Alright, Donnie. Just lemme take a look at yer leg. Somethin’ tells me yer patch job while runnin’ probably needs some work.” Raph was maneuvering Don’s leg around as he spoke, reaching for the few medical supplies that had been in the bag.

It took him a moment more than it should, but Donnie let out a light snort. “D-don’t tr-trust my… s-s-skills?”

It was an attempt at a tease, and Raph let out a small, amused grunt. “Don, I’d trust yer skills on the run any day. But now that we’re settled, I still wanna good look at it.”

The bandages Don had managed to put on his leg while up in that tree were soaked through with both blood and water by this point, half-frozen in the falling temperatures. Raph was extremely careful as he peeled them back, not wanting to make anything worse by ripping frozen bandages from frozen skin. Fortunately, the bandages didn’t seem to have frozen that far in. Unfortunately, taking them off still seemed to be causing Don pain, and Raph did his best to ignore the sharp hisses of pain from his brother.

The wound itself wasn’t as bad or as messy as Raph had feared. It looked like a relatively clean shot, in and out, which was good. But the amount of blood soaking the bandage and the fact that it was still bleeding a bit was definitely in the not good category.

“Coulda been worse, Donnie,” Raph said, taking the time to clean it. Good thing Don was always prepared. Raph had no idea if the bottle of rubbing alcohol was meant for this, or if Don was going to use it for something science related, but he was glad to have it either way. “Looks like it was a rifle, not a shotgun, so we don’t hafta worry ‘bout picking shot outta yer leg. Looks like it went through too.”

“Go—ood!” Don gasped out, the word interrupted by a spike of pain when Raph poured some of the rubbing alcohol directly on the wound.

“Sorry,” Raph said. “I’m guessin’ it’s still bleedin’ cause of all the movin’ we’ve been doin’.”

Don nodded. “P-p-probably,” he said, still shivering.

“Just gimmie a minute and I’ll have this wrapped up. And then we’ll both sit by the fire, alright?” Raph said.

Don just nodded and closed his eyes. Raph focused in on his work, wanting to make sure he did this right. He, like all of the others, knew quite a bit about first aid. Splinter had insisted that they learn at least some of it young, and they had only built on that knowledge as they grew. Don probably knew the most, just because Don usually knew the most about things. But the rest of them were no slouches, and Raph’s hands moved confidently despite the small tremors from the cold that ran through them.

By the time he finished Donnie looked absolutely exhausted, and Raph helped him turn around to face the fire. He dumped the wood out of Don’s bag and put the supplies back in it, taking the pile of wood over to the fire. With the light of the fire, they didn’t need the flashlight as much anymore and Raph started to turn it off when a thought occurred to him. The light had helped him find his way back to the cave. Maybe it would help the others find them too. It might help other people find them as well, but who would be looking for anyone around here? Raph turned the flashlight over in his hands. It was one that Donnie had modified. He wouldn’t have to worry about the batteries running out. Decision made, Raph took it towards the entrance of the cave and set it on the ledge where he had found it, the light on. Hopefully that would help them, and not come back to bite them in the shell.

That done, he sat back down by the fire and brought Donnie over to lean on him, wrapping an arm around his freezing, hurt, and exhausted brother. He reached for a piece of the wood and set about stripping it and making it ready to use when they needed it. He could feel Don’s eyes watching his hands work, and the two brothers sat there in silence, letting the warmth of the fire leech into them.

Eventually Donnie fell asleep on Raph, still shivering, still cold, but not as freezing. Raph was starting to feel his own exhaustion at that point. He’d been taking point and supporting Donnie through all of this, and now with the adrenaline crash, he could feel the tiredness start to overtake him as well. He couldn’t let himself sleep though. Not when there was a fire to tend and Donnie to worry about. Instead, he set his focus on stripping the wood and keeping an eye on Donnie.

Time seemed to stretch on as they huddled in the cave, with Raph stoking the fire a couple of times, and periodically checking on the storm. He could hear it howling in its fury outside of the cave and knew that going out in that now would be certain suicide.

Which brought up another problem.

Raph knew that he wouldn’t be able to go out for more wood for the fire, so he had to be conservative with what they had. But Donnie was barely getting warmer, skin still cold and shivers shuddering through him. Raph woke him up every so often, just to make sure he was still with him, and it always took Don a few moments to get his brain working again. He needed more warmth, but if Raph gave him that, then he was afraid that they would be left with no warmth, and that would be worse.

Raph had no idea what they were going to do when the fire ran out.

The supply was dwindling, and Raph had a dozing Don pulled tightly against him when the first sound caught his ear. It sounded like something outside of the cave. Tensing, Raph shifted Don so that, if he needed to, he could easily get in front of Don and protect him.

“Raphie?” Don murmured, stirring from his doze.

“I heard somethin’,” Raph said, already fingering a sai.

Don shifted, and Raph could sense him sitting up a bit more. It too him a moment, but he reached into Raph’s belt for a couple of shuriken, seeing as Don was still stripped of his gear. Raph didn’t mind. He’d rather his brother have something to protect himself and besides, he had added all of Don’s tools and weapons to his own earlier, just in case.

There was definitely something at the entrance to the cave, and it sounded big. Raph silently stood, taking a moment to make sure that Don was good before peering towards the entrance. If this was a bear or something, he’d definitely need room to fight—and probably something more long range than his sai.

He glanced at Donnie, seeing that his brother was a little more aware now. Good. It was probably the adrenaline. He gestured for Don to move to the back of cave and, after a moment, he did, scooting back without standing, and managing to keep quiet despite the pain Raph could see on his face. Raph picked up his brother’s bo, holding it in one hand. It wasn’t his preferred weapon, but they all knew how to fight with other weapons, especially the ones their brothers favored. He’d need something with more range for an animal, and Don’s bo fit the bill. He wished it had some sort of blade on it, but Raph knew from experience just how much damage could be done with a bo staff, if handled properly.

With Don at the back of the cave, and with himself as armed as he could be, Raph waited, letting the tension of battle seep into his body. He was ready. The second he saw his moment, he could strike. He just needed his enemy to reveal itself.

Suddenly, a green head poked its way inside the entrance, and Raph faltered for just a second. He knew instantly it wasn’t his brothers, but the surprise had taken him aback for a moment. He recovered quickly, though, and took a couple of steps forward, the bo raised.

“Wait!”

Don’s voice stopped him in his tracks, and Raph paused, risking a second to glance back at Don. “Donnie?” he questioned.

“I… I don’t…” he took a moment, even as the creature kept its eyes unnervingly fixed on Raphael. It made his hackles rise, and he willed Don to finish his sentence faster. “…it’s the green man,” he finally said. “or… um… green woman.”

Raph recalled the story that Casey, Mikey, and Don had told them, and he looked back at the creature. Its bulk took up most of the entrance, and Raph could see two little heads wiggling their way under its arms. It—she—took a paw and gently pushed them back.

“Is she dangerous?” he asked Don.

“…don’t think so,” Don replied, his voice starting to sound exhausted again. “…’less we’re a threat.”

Raph eyed her again and then, slowly, lowered the bo. She seemed to take this as permission, and trundled in, carefully avoiding the fire and guiding her two children along. Raph backed up a little, keeping a wary eye on her. If she turned on them, he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to take her, although he’d sure try.

She trundled along the edge of the cave, sniffing it. One of the cubs got closer to the fire, and she let out a noise that seemed to be a warning to them. The cub darted back. She sniffed the air and paused, as if she had just discovered something. Her head turned, nose sniffing, and she seemed to zero in on Donnie. Raph watched tensing up as she seemed to make her way over to Don.

He took steps toward Don, and she paused, looking at him curiously. Raph moved into a more protective stance in front of Don, her eyes fixed on him the entire time. Then, slowly, she moved her attention to Don, and brushed her fur back on one front leg. Raph’s brow furrowed. What was she doing?

“…oh.”

Don seemed to understand, and Raph looked back at him. “Donnie?”

“She’s… she’s the same one,” he said. “’s okay.”

“You sure?” Raph wasn’t sure.

“Yeah… ‘s scar there.”

Raph wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but cautiously stepped back, and the green woman moved closer. She lowered her head, sniffing at Don, taking her time to sniff at his wound. She let out a distressed sound at it.

“He got shot,” Raph said. “Hurt. We’ve done the best we can.”

The green lady looked at him, and then back at Donatello. She nosed at his skin, seemingly unhappy, but backed off again. She lumbered over to the opposite side of the cave, settled in, calling her cubs over to her. They had been sitting and watching everything but scurried over to her at her call.

Raph knelt by Donnie, reaching out to help him move back towards the fire. His shivering was getting worse again, and Raph wanted him as close to the fire as possible.

“Okay. That was weird,” Raph said as he helped his brother stand.

Don grimaced, and Raph handed him his staff, letting him use it as a crutch. “Yeah,” he said. “I—ah—I, um… I d-don’t think… I don’t… think sh-she liked… that I was-s hurt.”

Raph gently helped Donnie sit back down, wishing there was something more that he could do. The green woman watched it all as she laid curled around her cubs.

“Yeah, well, neither do I,” Raph said. He threw a bit more wood on the fire and wrapped his arm around Donnie again. He was still like ice. “Just rest bro. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Don nodded, clearly spent again, and leaned into Raph’s side.

The green woman and her cubs weren’t bad roommates. Just them being in there had helped raise the temperature of the cave a bit, which Raph found helpful. The cubs liked to run around and play like any other kids. She kept them mostly reigned in, mostly just observing Raph and Don. That was fine by Raph, as he did the same to her and her cubs. They existed in the same space but didn’t really interact.

At least, not until one of the cubs was getting too close to the fire. It had been warned off by its mother, but the little fella just seemed determined to get a closer look. Raph couldn’t decide if that was his kind of rebellion, or Donnie’s type of curiosity, but regardless, it kept getting too close.

“Hey,” Raph said to it. “Shoo. Back off.” It paused as if it was considering Raph’s words, and then moved closer. “I said, back off,” Raph said again, this time stronger. He could feel the green woman’s eyes on him. Once again, the cub looked at him, and crept closer. This time, Raph picked up the bo staff. “I said to back off,” he said firmly, and brought the staff down just tin front of the cub, smacking it hard enough against a rock to make a loud noise. It startled the cub, sending it back to its mother with a cry.

She had been watching him the whole time, and Raph had no doubt that if he had hurt the little cub, she would have stepped in. But instead, she just gave a bob of her head, as if in approval, and started getting onto the cub, or at least that’s what it sounded like to Raph’s ears.

From that point on, if Raph said something to the cubs, they seemed to listen, backing off when he told them too, or just heading back towards their mother. They also apparently decided that meant that they could come up and demand attention from him and Donnie whenever they wanted, but Raph didn’t mind that so much. They were warm, and that was nice.

Unfortunately, the storm was getting worse, and it didn’t take long for Raph to run out of fuel for the fire. Once it was out, the temperature seemed to drop again, leaving the icy cold to start moving into the space. The green woman and her cubs didn’t seem too bothered by it, but Raph was.

Don had been somewhat responsive while the fire was going, still cold, but with it enough that he enjoyed watching the cubs play, even petting them a few times. But once the fire was out, his shivering picked up again, growing more and more violent, and leaving Don more and more out of it until he was pretty much unresponsive to Raph.

“Come on, Donnie. Stay with me, bro,” Raph said as he clutched his brother to him, trying to rub some warmth into his brother’s limbs. Don murmured against him, but that was about it. His shivering was dying down, but his skin was just as icy, if not more so, and something about that made alarms blare in Raph’s mind. He had to do something, anything, or he knew that Don wasn’t going to survive.

He’d have to go out and get some wood or something, although he had no idea how he would find his way in the storm. He was shivering hard too, and that worried him. It would be too easy for him to get too cold out there as well. But he had to do something. Doing nothing meant Don’s death.

He rubbed Donnie’s limbs with his own shaking hands one more time, and laid him down, arranging him so that the least amount of skin was touching the cold earth. He started pulling things out of Don’s bag again. There was no other choice. Maybe he could use the rope to guide him. He could tie it off to something here and use it as a guideline. He only hoped he could find something within its reach—

His thoughts were cut off as the green woman stood up, making her way over to the two of them. Raph froze as she bent her head down and gently snuffled at Don. Raph had no idea what was going on, but he wasn’t sure he liked it. She looked as if she were trying to get a response out of him, but Donnie barely twitched. The green woman huffed. She nudged him again, and Raph slowly reached for his sai, unsure of what was going on. Then, with a whine and a huff, she nearly made Raph’s heart stop as she put a hand on her brother’s shell, hauling him to a sitting position, and then curled herself around his brother.

“Hey--!” Raph started, alarmed. “Get off of my brother!”

The green woman curled tighter around Donnie, and simply looked at Raphael. Raph gripped his sai, not sure what to do. If he attacked, she could hurt Don, or he could hurt Don accidentally. If he did nothing, then that could put Don in more danger. And Raph knew he wasn’t in the condition to take on the green woman. He was too cold as well. But no matter what, there was a good chance of Don being hurt, which Raph did not like. He couldn’t leave his brother there, though. He’d have to--

Donnie let out a contented sigh seeming to sink into the fur.

Raph blinked in surprise.

The green woman curled around him more, once again nuzzling him with her head.

Raph understood.

“Yer—yer keeping him warm,” he said, surprised. “Ya—but why?”

The green woman looked at him, and Raph had the distinct impression that he was getting a maternal amused look. She made another noise, and Raph felt something warm and furry butt its way into his hand. He looked down to see one of the cubs nuzzling his hand, while the other gently butted him from behind. They were trying to push him closer to the green woman.

“What—hey, what is this, family cuddle time?” Raph asked, pulling his hand away. The little green cubs were not undeterred, though, and Raph realized that family cuddle time was exactly what this was. They bullied him closer to their mom and Raph decided to give in, putting his sais away as they pushed hi =m closer. He was cold, he was tired, they were warm, and it would put him closer to Donnie. “Alright, alright,” he said and sat down next to the green woman. She shifted, arranging herself so that he could lean on her. The two cubs plopped down, one practically in his lap, the other nuzzled up against his side. Raph sighed. He could keep an eye on things like this, he supposed. So long as Donnie was safe, that was all he cared about.

The next thing that Raph knew he was waking up, half buried in warm green fur. It took him a moment to make sense of the situation, but once he did, he realized he was leaning heavily into the green woman’s side, with the cubs cuddled up with him. He was quite warm with them, the only places that were cool being the ones that weren’t covered in green fur, like his head and one arm.

He squinted as he looked around the dark cave. The bag was still laying where he had left it, half emptied, and the fire was still nothing but ashes. Don’s gear was still laid out where it had been drying. Sunlight seemed to be coming in from the opening to the cave and—

Raph paused. Sunlight! That meant that the storm was over! If the storm was over, then that meant that maybe he and Don could make their way back to the farmhouse. It would be hard, but Don needed medical attention. However, while that was good, that didn’t seem like what snapped him to awareness. Something obviously had. He didn’t just wake up like that for no reason.

His heart lept in his throat. Was it Donnie? Had something happened to Don and that’s what woke him up? Raph began struggling to get loose from the two cubs, needing to see Don, needing to make sure that he was alright. He was just managing to get his arms free when he froze.

“Raph! Donnie!”

“Raphael! Donatello!”

“Raaaaaph! Dooooon!”

“The guys—” Raph pulled himself loose of the cubs, waking them slightly as he stumbled back. He could see the top of Donnie’s head from where he was buried in the green woman’s hold, but that was enough for him. He lunged forward, ignoring the confused sounds from the cubs, and the curious ones from the green woman. He pushed on her arms until he could see Don, could feel his skin, check his pulse see him breathing. He was alive. He was alright. He was still colder than he should be, but he was still with him.

Raph turned and headed towards the entrance of the cave. “Here! We’re—Leo! Mike! We’re here!”

“Raph? Raph!”

“Raph!”

“Over here!”

They weren’t close enough to see yet, but they had heard him. He wanted to get out there, try to find them, make himself more visible, but he needed to check on Donnie before he did anything else. Something shone in the sunlight, and he saw the flashlight, still on, buried in the snow and ice and brushed it off, pulling it out. He set it up in the snow again, a beacon for his brothers even as he rushed back to check on Don.

The green woman was awake now, even if she hadn’t moved yet, Don still carefully cradled in her side. But she was looking at him curiously, as were the cubs.

“Our family,” Raph said. “That’s our family, lookin’ for us.” He reached for Don again, and this time the green woman moved her arms away further, allowing Raph better access. Raph knelt, putting his hands on the sides of Donnie’s face. “Donnie? Don, bro, can you hear me? Donnie.”

Don’s brow furrowed, and Raph tried again, this time also tapping his brother on the cheek. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Don’s eyes cracked open.

“Mm…Raphie?” he said, clearly still a little disoriented at the moment, but awake and recognizing him. “What… I’m…um…”

He looked around a little bewildered, and Raph laughed. “Don’t worry, Brainiac, I’ll explain everythin’ to ya. But I want ya to wake up, but ya need stay here. I can hear the others lookin’ for us. I’ll be right back, okay, bro?”

Donnie still looked confused, but he nodded at Raph’s words, looking around the cave. That did wonders to lighten Raph’s worries. The look he had was one of Don trying to figure out a problem, not one of not being able to understand what was going on.

Knowing he might need something to grab their eye, Raph grabbed up Don’s bo and his now dry mask and tied the mask to the end of the staff. He headed out of the entrance of the cave, wincing at how cold the snow and ice were on his feet. The snow seemed to cover everything, as did layers of ice. There were broken branches all around and a few downed trees. His breath formed visible puffs of air as he breathed out, the cold trying to steal all of the air from his lungs. But the sky was clear, and the sun was shining. And in the distance, he could hear his brothers’ voices calling for him again.

Raph climbed on top of the out cropping that made the entrance to the small cave, and waved the staff with the mask around, as well as the light. “Mikey! Leo!” he bellowed. “We’re here! Near the water! There’s a cave! Mikey! Leo!”

There was the crunching sound of snow and then, almost before he could process that, Mikey, heavily clothed, emerged from the trees, running towards him and flinging his arms around him. Raph took half a step back for balance but closed his arms around Mikey.

“Raph! Oh man, oh man, oh man, are you alright? Where’s Donnie? Oh man, Raphie, don’t do this again!”

The only thing that cut off Mikey’s frantic babbling was the sudden appearance of Leo, also heavily clothed. He didn’t bother to hold back either, rocketing towards them and wrapping his arms around both Raph and Mikey.

“Raph! Are—are you alright? Where’s Don? Is he alright? Shell, you’re shivering, Mikey, we needed to call the others, get them here, get him in something warm.”

Leo was already stepping back, pulling out a shell cell even as Mikey was unzipping one of the heavy coats he had on, eager to give it to Raph.

“Whoa, whoa, hang on, Leo, one thing at a time,” Raph said as he tried to get the both of them to calm down. “I’m not about to freeze to death, although I wouldn’t mind steppin’ inside the cave.” He jerked his thumb towards the entrance. “Donnie’s in there. He’s hurt, but I think he’ll be alright, thanks to some help we got last night.”

“Help?” Leo questioned.

Raph nodded. “Yeah. Look, just come see for yerself, alright? Besides—this ice is freezing my feet.”

The other two nodded quickly, and Raph staked Don’s bo with his mask in the snow near the flashlight, figuring it could serve as a marker if others were going to be coming this way. He led the way into the half-hidden cave, his brothers following him. Almost immediately the two cubs came running up to him, making little trilling noises at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m back,” Raph said, giving each of them a pat on the head and then shooing them back.

Mikey was the first to understand what was happening. “The green woman!” he said in surprise.

“The green woman?” Leo questioned. “You mean that creature that you and Casey and Don saved from that crazy monster hunter lady?”

“…I think creature might be a bit unfair.” Don’s voice floated out, sounding exhausted still, but aware at least. The green woman shifted enough to reveal Don, and the looks on Mikey and Leo’s faces were priceless. They were part disbelief and part relief. “I think she’s got more intelligence than we realize, we’re just not used to understanding intelligence in the way that she’s presenting it.”

“Donnie!” Mikey rocketed over to him, falling to his knees and sliding the last little bit to him. The coat he had been taking off was still in his hands, and he laid it over Don, even as Don was still reclining into the green woman.

“Don,” the relief was clear to hear in Leo’s voice, and he gave their brother a smile. “Raph said you were hurt. How bad is it?”

“He probably shouldn’t be up and around,” Raph said. “He was shot in the leg,” both Mikey and Leo stiffened at that, “and then we had to move on it. It was a clean shot but kept bleedin’ for a while. I haven’t had the chance to check it this morning yet.”

Almost immediately Mikey was searching for the injury and bringing the bag he was wearing around, clearly set to check on the wound.

“That’s not all,” Leo said looking at Raph.

Raph shook his head. “No, it ain’t. We got caught out in the storm, tried to get home. But when we tried to cross the creek, Donnie fell in. We managed to find this cave, and I got us some wood, but it wasn’t enough. The Green Woman and her cubs joined us partway through. When the fire ran out, I had no way left to keep Don warm. He… he got real cold, Leo. I didn’t… I was about to risk the storm again just to find some more wood to burn. But she,” he nodded towards the green woman, “brought Don in close to her and curled around him, keeping him warm. Those two,” he nodded at the cubs, who were busy play wrestling, “bullied me over too. The next thing I knew I was wakin’ up in a pile of green fur because I heard you two.”

“I’m glad you did,” Leo said. “Mike, how is he?”

“He is right here,” Don said, a little annoyed.

“It’s like Raphie said,” Mikey said. “It looks pretty clean, but I don’t think he should be up on it.” He placed his hands on Don’s face. “And he still feels a little cold to me.”

Leo nodded. “Alright. Casey, April, and Splinter are all out looking for you two as well. I’m going to call them and get them over this way with the snow mobiles. We’ll get you two some warm clothes and head back to the farmhouse.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Raph said. “I could use a nice warm house.”

“I’m sure,” Leo said. “But until then—” he stripped off his outer coat and handed it to Raph, pausing only to put his hand on his shoulder and squeeze it before he headed towards the entrance to the cave. “I’m really glad you two are safe.”

He stepped away then, and Raph slipped the coat on. He knew that the others had to have been worried about him and Donnie, but he was getting the feeling that it was worse than he thought. With a shake of his head, he made his way over to Mikey and Don, where Mikey bullied him into sitting next to Don, the cubs joining and pinning them down again. Raph didn’t fight it, not when he could see the little extra edge of relief that Mikey had to him.

It didn’t take long for the sound of two snow mobiles to be heard, and then more voices. Raph felt the green woman tense up, but Raph just rubbed a hand in her fur.

“Easy,” he said. “That’s just more of our family.”

Within moments Splinter, April, and Casey were rushing into the cave, Splinter immediately rushing over to them.

“My sons!”

The green woman nudged the cubs out of the way and moved herself more so that Splinter had a better access to them. His hands ghosted over them, checking for hidden injuries and checking temperatures.

“Raph! Donnie!” April was right there as well, a worried look on her face as she sat down what looked like the medical kit the family kept.

“Guys! Yer alright!” Casey followed behind them, setting down a heavy pack that looked as if it had clothes spilling out of it.

“For the most part,” Raph said.

“Neither of you are to move,” Splinter instructed them sternly. He looked to the green woman. “Thank you for watching over my sons. Please allow them to stay here for a few moments longer, until we are ready to move them.”

“Master Splinter I’m fine—” Raph started, only to stop at his father’s look.

“I will be the judge of that, Raphael,” he said. “And you are still cool to the touch.” He turned his attention to Don. “And you—”

“Don’t worry, Master,” Donnie said, his voice still sounding far too tired. “I’m not planning on moving until I’m made to.”

“Good.” April kneeled down next to them as Splinter started his own examination of Don.

Raph scooted to the side just a bit, giving April a bit more room. “What’s in the bag?” he asked Casey, absentmindedly petting the cubs who had come over to him, demanding attention.

“Clothes and stuff for you two,” Casey said. “Although I think yer little buddies there are keepin’ ya plenty warm.”

Raph snorted. “They’re like pushy little heaters that demand attention.”

“So like Mikey, if he was warm-blooded,” Don said, a faint smile on his face.

“I heard that!” came Mikey’s voice from outside of the cave.

“Casey, April, help Donatello into some warm clothes,” Splinter said, interrupting the conversation. “Raphael, let me look over you.”

“I’m fine, Master,” Raph said. “Donnie’s the one you should be worried about.”

“You have been through an ordeal as well, my son,” Splinter said. “You have pushed yourself hard. Do not discount that.”

It did not take Splinter long to make his evaluations. While they were both alert enough, it wasn’t good enough for him. He refused to let either one of them move without help and insisted on both of them being bundled as much as possible before he even considered letting them leave the cave. Neither Raph nor Don really minded, as they were both feeling the cold more than anyone else.

Throughout it all, the green woman watched, letting her cubs play around them all, but keeping her eyes on what was going on.

Mikey made sure that all of their things were gathered back up, and the two of them were led out of the cave and to the waiting snowmobiles. Don was still unsteady on his feet, both from the gunshot wound, and from his dance with hypothermia. Leo and Casey supported him out and onto the small supply trailer Don had rigged up last year. April and Splinter would ride with Don there while Leo drove that snowmobile. Raph would be sitting behind Leo. Mikey and Casey were going to take the other one and go on ahead to make sure things were prepared at the farmhouse.

Mikey walked Raph out. Raph really didn’t need the help, but he didn’t have the heart to turn Mikey away. He was just about to settle on the snowmobile when he looked behind them to see that the green woman and her cubs had come out of the cave to watch them.

“Wait a second,” Raph said, and he waved Mikey off as he turned around and walked towards the green woman, stopping before her. He hesitated a moment, then half-bowed to her, feeling a bit too unsteady to completely bow. “Thank you,” he said. “I don’t think Donnie woulda made it without ya. And I’m not sure I woulda either.”

The green woman leaned her head forward, nuzzling the side of Raph’s, before slowly turning away. The cub rushed forward, nuzzling into his hands, and then turning to follow their mother as she made her way into the woods.

Mikey stepped towards Raph, clasping a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, bro. Let’s get home,” he said.

Raph nodded, and let Mikey lead him back toward the snowmobile, getting on behind Leo. Within moments they were moving, gliding over the snow, Mikey and Casey racing ahead of them. Raph just kept ahold of Leo and let his mind blank out as they moved, relieved to finally be able to turn the decision making over to someone else.

He had almost lost his brother. He had almost died himself. They had almost frozen to death. Donnie could have been shot in a much, much worse way or place. And while he had done his best, it wouldn’t have been enough, except for the help of the green woman. He tightened his hold on Leo, suddenly very tired.

Leo turned his head toward him just a bit, raising his voice a bit to be heard over the noise. “We’ll be back at the farm soon,” he said. “Will you be good until then?”

Raph nodded. “Yeah,” he said, responding in kind. “Just… it’ll be good to be there.”

Leo turned his head back toward the front, and Raph felt their speed increase just a little bit more.

The farmhouse was a welcome sight. There was already smoke coming out of the chimney, and as they pulled up right in front of the front porch, Casey and Mike were there and ready to help them inside. Casey and Mikey took the main part of Don’s weight as he limped inside with them, April following not far behind. Leo turned the snowmobile off, getting off, clearly waiting on Raph. Raph swung his leg over the seat and stood up, although almost immediately he swayed.

“Whoa there!” Leo reached out to steady him. “You good, Raph?”

Splinter was suddenly at his side. “You have over-exerted yourself, my son. Leonardo, help me get him inside.”

“Yes, Master,” Leo said.

“I ain’t the one hurt,” Raph grumbled, but he didn’t refuse Leo’s help up the stairs and inside.

Leo led him to a chair that was by the fire, where Mikey immediately wrapped a warmed blanket around him, and lifted his feet, stripping them of the boots and socks to put them in a bucket of warm water. He pushed a warm drink in his hand.

“Drink up, bro,” Mikey said. “I’ll have some soup for you two soon! I bet you’re starving.”

Raph blinked. “Yeah—now that ya mention it, I am pretty hungry.”

“Some of my sewer famous soup coming right up, then!” Mikey said with a grin.

Raph looked around the room. Don was on the couch, which had been pulled closer to the fire as well. He, too, had a blanket over him, although it had been pulled back and most of his clothes pulled off so that his leg could be seen to.

“We will clean it thoroughly, and then stitch it,” Splinter said as he examined it. “After that, you, Donatello, will stay in bed until I say you are ready to be up.” He turned his stern gaze on Raph as well. “Both of you are far too cold for this old rat’s comfort.”

“Yes, Sensei,” they both murmured.

Raph kept a lazy eye on watching his family move about the farmhouse. Leo and Splinter were tending to Donnie, he could hear Mikey and April in the kitchen, and Casey had headed out to put the snowmobiles away. Raph burrowed more into the warmth around him, letting it envelop him. Eventually Mikey brought out the soup, and both he and Donnie ate some while it was nice and warm. Raph hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until that moment. The soup was hearty, and Splinter insisted that they both eat at least two bowls of it.

Don managed to whine enough about feeling gross from creek water, dirt, and unwashed fur that he was finally allowed to get a monitored shower after they ate, with the provision that he went straight to bed afterward. He agreed. When he was out, Raph got a shower of his own, knowing that the same conditions applied to him. Splinter would have it no other way, and everyone else seemed to agree.

Leo waited on him while he was in the shower, ready to walk him up to the attic space they claimed as their room when they were here. Raph found that he didn’t mind. He was exhausted, and, if he were honest, having his brother nearby was a comfort.

“Hey. Leo,” Raph said once they reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Yeah?” Leo responded.

“…how bad did we scare all of ya?” Raph asked.

There was a pause. “…pretty badly,” Leo said. “We honestly thought it was more likely that we’d find your bodies then find you alive.”

Raph took that in. “The storm seemed bad to me, but it musta been worse than I thought from that cave.”

Leo’s expression darkened. “The winds shook the house from time to time. We saw the ice building on things as we watched. Power went out a couple of times, although Don’s generators kicked in just fine. There were reports all over the news about how bad it was. We… we honestly didn’t know how you two would survive,” Leo said. “We were nearly certain we had lost both of you.”

Raph had paused at this point, not heading up the stairs to the third floor yet. “…Can I be honest with ya, Leo?” He waited until Leo nodded, then continued. “I think ya almost did. Or at least one of us.” He looked up the stairs. “That farmer saw us, and we weren’t fast enough. He got Don, and I swear my heart almost stopped there. But even though we managed to get away, the storm just kept getting worse. Don wasn’t sure if we’d make it even if he wasn’t hurt. I was worried then. But when he fell in the creek…” Raph swallowed. “It was like feelin’ him freeze under my fingers. And then I never could get him warm enough. We ran out of firewood. I was certain that he was going to freeze to death and that I wouldn’t be far behind. If it hadn’t of been for the green woman…” Raph shook his head. “I thought Donnie was gonna die right there and there was nothin’ I could do about it.”

Leo gave Raph’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m glad she showed up.”

“Me too,” Raph said. “Although I have no idea why.”

“Probably the flashlight you left sitting out and on.” Don’s voice drifted down from the attic. “And if you two are going to have private conversations having them on stairwells that force the sound in only a couple of directions probably isn’t the best thing.”

“Maybe if we didn’t have eavesdropping brothers it wouldn’t be a problem,” Leo said with a grin, gesturing for Raph to head on up.

Don was already in bed, the bed piled high with quilts, a portable heater turned on him. He watched them as they came up the stairs, as if he had been expecting it for a while. “Tired?” he asked.

“Exhausted,” Raph responded, collapsing into what he was fairly certain was his bed. Leo just chuckled and turned the second portable heater before draping at least one blanket over Raph.

“I’ll leave you two to rest,” he said with a smile. “Just get under some quilts soon, Raph.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Raph muttered, his face in his pillows.

Leo chuckled, but left the room, leaving the two in the relative quiet. With the distant sounds of the television and the gentle murmur of their family, Raph found himself relaxing.

“Hey, uh, Raphie?”

Raph shook himself out of his stupor and looked over at Don. “Yeah?” he said.

“Sorry for scaring you,” he said. “I should have been more careful—”

“Stop apologizin’,” Raph said. “It wasn’t like it was yer fault. And ya did a lot to keep us safe. Ya took care of yer leg, had those smoke bombs of yers, found the cave. You were even the one that set up that flashlight for me.”

“Still,” Don said, “that had to be terrifying.”

“It was no walk in the park,” Raph said. He sighed, and rolled off his bed, leaving the blanket behind and walking over to Don. “Move over,” he said.

Donnie looked up at him in surprise, “What?” he asked.

“I said, move over,” Raph repeated. Don did and Raph slipped into the bed with him. He could feel Don’s curious look on him, and he explained. “I’m not gonna sleep good without knowin’ yer safe. And somethin’ tells me you could use the comfort too.”

“…you’re not wrong,” Donnie said with a smile. He sat whatever it was he had been working on, on the nightstand and snuggled into the blankets. “…thanks, Raphie.”

Raph wrapped his arms around Don, knowing that thanks was for more than just this moment. “Anytime, Donnie. Anytime.”

Raph tightened his hold on his brother, and let sleep slowly take him, safe, secure, warm, and content with the knowledge that he and his brother were safe.

“Hey, Raph?”

“Mm?”

“Next time I want to go out in the middle of winter, just throw me in some snow and remind me why it’s a bad idea.”

“In a heartbeat, Don.”