The Silent Partner

Just be Silent

Well, it's been two years since I first joined the Fanfiction community. I can hardly believe it. What better way to mark the day than with the long awaited final chapter of The Silent Partner!

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"Hey." A familiar voice called through the haze.

Raphael's eye-ridges furrowed and he shook his head.

"Wake up, sleepy-head," the voice urged.

Gentle hands nudged him. He groaned and swatted them away.

"Raph." The speaker's eye-ridges lowered and he stared flatly at the uncooperative brother. He sighed.

Someone else came to loom over Raph's bedside. They turned knowingly to the frustrated-looking older turtle. "Won't wake up, huh?"

"Nope."

Donatello sighed and shook his head. "We should let him rest. He's still recovering, after all."

"He's going to kill us when he wakes up," Leo said.

"No he won't. He'll be too busy panicking and storming about."

"Don't you think we should—"

"He has to rest, Leo. The stress is slowing his recovery enough as it is. In his current condition, the only reason he hasn't contracted some kind of infectious disease is because of the mountain of antibiotics I've been dumping into his system."

"You think he's still in danger?"

"Until that part of his shell is completely healed, he's always in danger."

Leo's face paled.

Don sighed and lifted his hands. "Don't start, Leo. Worrying only puts more strain on everybody else."

Leonardo frowned, but nodded. After a short pause and a glance at their sleeping brother, he asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

Don paused and glanced thoughtfully at Raph's sleeping form. Slowly, he nodded.

"Stay with Raph. Try and make sure he doesn't hurt himself too much whenever he does decide to return to the world of the lucid."

"Okay. Do you need my help changing Mikey's bandages first?"

Donnie shook his head. "No, Leo, just stay with Raph."

"We're behind in the dish washing, someone's got to take care of that. The pile's almost as high as the ceiling. I need to make Master Splinter's tea. I should probably do that before I sit with Raph. And I need to sort out the candles, April bought a whole bunch and shoved them in a box. They got all mixed up. I need to organize them by type. After that I should—"

"Leo," Don interrupted.

Leo looked at him.

Don's eyes narrowed and he pointed at the chair next to Raph's. "Sit."

"But Donnie, I need to run and do those things before—"

"Sit!"

Leo sat. "Don, can't I at least get the box of candles—"

"No. Stay right in that chair until Raph wakes up."

"But Don—"

"No. A billion times: No!" Don rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Sit. Stay."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Bossy."

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to." Leo crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.