Forty-Sixth Theory [Voice/Action]

[i_speak_softly]

((Action part backdated to the wee hours of this morning.))

[The horror ends at midnight.]

[Sort of.]

[Don doesn't know how long it takes him to realize that he's lying on cobblestone instead of mud, and that the water pooling around him is only the rain running off his own skin.]

[It's still raining now, but so lightly he can't even feel it through the numbness.]

[He gets up. People are running in every direction. Someone had organized a clinic and healers, and everywhere he looks the injured are being tended to.]

[There are no provisions for the dead. There are never any bodies.]

[Don turns away from the confusion, points his steps towards home. The walk seems to take a long time. When he gets there, the house is quiet. Don finds Mike asleep at the kitchen table, gives him what may be a startlingly cold hug, inhales the plate of spaghetti at his elbow, and moves on.]

[He closes the door of his room, drops his gear to the ground. Climbs into Leo's bed and finds his brother not yet asleep.]

We lost.

[That's all the words he has energy for.]

[He sleeps for the next thirty-six hours. He wakes intermittently to whisper half-intelligible accounts of the battle into Leo's ear. He runs a low fever.]

[On Wednesday afternoon he manages to get out of bed - or at least sit up, if his family won't allow any more than that - speak to his brothers and father, listen to his messages on the journal. In the evening he'll put out some short, poorly-filtered messages to obvious people.]

*

Ms. Daisy... I lost the samples.

*

Frederic, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to come over?

*

Mr. Mulder. Did you make it back safely?

*

Kay, ah... What are you doing Saturday?

*

((Feel free to leave Voice messages, but assume Don's replies are forward-dated to tomorrow. You may also get a more-timely response from one of his journal-stealing housemates.))

Comments

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[The reports from the field had been few, but the ones that Leo did manage to get over the journals, he didn't like the sound of. He itched to be out there helping, especially with one of his brothers out there fighting.

Their shared room is dark, except for the flickering light of a couple of candles, providing enough light to navigate by, without lighting up the whole room. He'll be on his back, right arm under his head and eyes closed as he listens to the rain outside. Trying to relax his mind, even if he's in no mood to sleep. The room door opening will see him sitting up, eyes opened. Don looks exhausted, and he doesn't protest him crawling into his bed dirty. He scoots over to make room. He visually checks for wounds, but they all look minor.]

It sounded like it. [He says, with a sigh. He'll listen to Don's recounts of the battle. Come morning sometime, he'll leave Don to sleep, to go alert Splinter, Raph and Mikey(if he didn't wake up earlier) and let them know that Don's back.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don is filthy, bruised and battered. A bandage, little more than a rag now, peeks from under the dirt on his calf.]

[The first thing he tells Leo is an overview of the battle. The types of enemies the draftees encountered, their seemingly endless numbers, the way they overran the camp during the fourth-day monsoon. The general organization of the draftees into teams, the ways they relayed information, what they learned about the world outside their enclosure.]

[Later in the morning he tells Leo about the rainforest itself: the beautiful things he saw there, and how much he would have liked it, if only he wasn't in constant danger of his life.]

[He'll have more to say in the afternoon, if Leo is still there.]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[Nothing a good shower won't fix, hopefully. He puts a hand on Don's forehead and notes the slight fever, frowning. It doesn't seem that bad yet, but he'll definitely mention it to Splinter. They wouldn't want it to get worse. For now he'll keep an eye on it.

Once he's done inspecting and assessing injuries, or while he's doing it, he'll listen to what Don says about the battle. Out manned, out gunned. A situation that non-combatants shouldn't of been near, but they were. The rainforest itself sounded beautiful, however.]

A shame you guys didn't get to enjoy it. [Beautiful lands outside the barrier, too bad they have no access to it at all.

He'll be in and out during the day, to get food and what have you. He'll mostly be in the room though, keeping an eye on Donny, makking sure that fever doesn't get worse.]

[i_speak_softly]

[The next time he's awake and you're around, he'll recount how he met Karai in the dorms and again in the jungle. He'll also mention how he got the injury on his leg: a piranha bite, naturally. You might want to clean that up for him.]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[He actually returns from one of his exits, with steal to rewrap it, and clean it up. He'll do that while you talk. To hear of Karai isn't surprising. He'd seen her on the list of draftees, and worried about what she might try to pull out on the field. But to hear that both encounters came out more or less peacefully, is surprising. Adding to it that she helped Don.]

Maybe she does still have some honor in her. [Though there's still doubt in his mind. But the fact that she didn't attack a fellow soldier, even one who's usually her enemy, shows something.

[i_speak_softly]

[Don lies quietly as Leo cleans and rebandages his injury, relaxing under his brother's hands. After four days of misery, of mud and brutal fighting and pushing on through the exhaustion, it feels good to just let someone take care of him.]

I talked to Derek.

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

This will sting a little.

[He warns, before he applies the anti-bacterial, and wraps up the wound. Learning basic wound care and first aid definitely comes in handy.

He glances up at Don's next words.]

Oh?

[i_speak_softly]

[The sting doesn't bother him, but he appreciates the warning nonetheless.]

I think... he might be ready to come home.

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[He smiles a little. He's only really met the man over the journals, but he can tell Derek means a lot to Don and Raph. Once he's done wrapping, he'll set the stuff aside and sit on the bed.]

He's doing better, then?

[i_speak_softly]

The infection is gone. He's - he's himself again.

[He flexes his ankle, just a little. Feels good.] Thanks.

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

Good to hear. I could clean up his room for him.

[It's only half-hearted, he wouldn't really without Derek's permission. Though the idea of everything in Derek's rooms gathering dust just tempts him.]

Welcome.

[i_speak_softly]

[Don shakes his head against the pillow.] Don't. We've left it just the way it was.

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

I won't.

[He shakes his own head. He's not done it to this point, and he still won't. He has more control then that, he doesn't clean Mikey and Raph's room either, after all.]

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[the-mikester.livejournal.com]

[Mike is still asleep on the table when Leo comes looking for him, a small puddle of drool pooling around his mouth.]

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[The kitchen's one of the first places he looks. The sight of Mikey asleep at the table stops him for a moment. Despite his mood, it gets a little smile from him. He heads over to his brother, giving him a gently shake on the shoulder.]

Mikey?

Re: [Action for Don and Leo's room]

[the-mikester.livejournal.com]

Fnh?

...Donnie?

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

No Mikey, it's me. Leo. Donny's home, though.

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[the-mikester.livejournal.com]

[That perks him right up.]

Where is he?

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[Thought it might.]

In our room, he's exhausted from the draft and has been mostly sleeping. [So no running and pouncing on him, please?]

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[the-mikester.livejournal.com]

[Mike gets up and bounds (quietly) into the room. Is Don sleeping? If not, he may get a wiggly turtle all up in his face, though he will be mindful of Don's condition. A little.]

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don is awake, for the moment, and looking in mild dismay at the dirt caked all over him. Surely something can be done about this. Or maybe he'll just get pounced on by an enthusiastic brother. That's good too.]

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[honorthecode.livejournal.com]

[Leo follows. Yeah, they should do something about the dirt.]

Mikey! I hope you didn't wake him up.

[Action for Don and Leo's room]

[the-mikester.livejournal.com]

I didn't! He was already awake.

You were awake, right Donnie?

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[Don't mind Raph hanging in the doorway, guys. He has his arms folded, shifting from foot to foot, just watching his brothers. He's glad Don's back. There's no doubt about that. But he's content to ghost around and let the others handle it for now.]

[i_speak_softly]

'm awake. [Did he hug you before, Mikey? He can't remember. He'll do it now.]