Warning to readers: There is mention, and brief descriptions of vomiting in this chapter.

Usually mornings in the subterranean home of the turtles were fairly routine. Weekdays it was wake up, make breakfast, and then go to the dojo to train with Master Splinter. April, upon learning about their schedules, had accounted it to being like their version of school, since it's something they've done practically every day since they were little kids. Every once in a while though there was a hiccup to their schedule.

Leonardo had just woke up, despite being out late during the night, he beat his alarm and effectively shut it off before it could starting beeping. There was something in the air that just didn't feel right, it was a cold tingle at the back of his neck, and it had him on edge. He tied his mask on, smoothed out the covers on his bed, and headed towards the bathroom.

He was always the first one up, so it was definitely a shock to Leo when he turned on the lights and found out that he was not the only one in the bathroom. Leo's heart jumped into his throat when he saw Mikey slumped against the bathtub, appearing to be asleep.

Quickly Leo bent down next to his brother to make sure he was still breathing. After reassuring himself that Mikey's pulse was perfectly fine, he attempted to wake up his brother.

"Mikey, wake up," Leo tapped his cheek softly to rouse him. "Come on, Mikey. This is not a good place to rest, get up!"

Mikey groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. Leo could see the dark bags that had formed under his eyes from not getting enough rest, which only worried him more.

"What?" Mikey asked. He didn't seem to be fully awake yet. He blinked a few times like it was a struggle just to keep his eyes open. "Oh…Leo? What's wrong?"

"I think that's for me to ask. Why did I find you asleep on the floor?"

Mikey glanced briefly around the room, just then realizing where he was. "Um, I got sick during the night." He straightened himself up against the tub. Wincing a bit when he could feel the kink in his neck from the awkward position he had been in for so long. "Dinner, lunch, and breakfast demanded to sacrificed to the porcelain god, bro. It was more brutal than that beat down we gave the Purple Dragons."

"You were throwing up all night? Why didn't you call for someone?" If Leo had known he was sick he could have helped him. If anything made sure he didn't sleep on the cement floor of the bathroom.

"I was a bit distracted," Mikey grimaced. "I still don't feel right…uh-oh."

Mikey's face instantly paled. He scrambled over to the toilet as quickly as his weary body could move. He dry heaved for a few moments, Leo did his best to comfort Mikey until he was finished. When he was done, he pulled Mikey slowly away without jarring him too much.

"What's going on?" Leo turned to see Raph standing in the doorway of the bathroom, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Michelangelo's sick," Leo stated.

Raph sobered up as he took a better look at his little brother on the floor. He looked utterly wiped out. "What can I do to help?"

"I guess tell Master Splinter and Donnie, or help take him back to bed."

"Bed sounds good," Mikey murmured. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke. "But I don't know if I can move. My stomach feels like it's doing skate tricks on a half-pipe."

"I'll help you up. Just tell me when you're ready to move," Leo said softly.

"If you got him, then I'll go get the others," Raph turned on his heel, and moved towards Donnie's room.

Mikey took a few deep, calming breaths before he spoke again. "Okay, I think I'm good to go. Just no sudden moves, the room is already spinning."

"All right," Leo placed Mikey's arm around his shoulders, and then his other arm snaked around his waist to gain leverage. He hoisted Mikey slowly off the cold floor, taking on most of his weight. After Leo was sure Mikey was going to be steady enough to move on he started for the door.

As Leo walked out of the bathroom he could feel Mikey trembling in his arms. Whether it was from the stress of moving while being so nauseated, or because he was obviously running a fever, Leo wasn't sure. Before turning into Mikey's room, he spotted Donnie in the hall with his medical kit.

"Hey Don, grab a bucket too just in case," Leo called down to him.

"Got it," he heard Donnie respond as he entered Mikey's room.

Mikey was shaking a lot harder when Leo placed him into bed. He was still very pale as Leo propped him up a bit on some pillows.

"Am I in bed?" Mikey asked. He had his eyes closed the entire time Leo was moving him.

"Yeah," Leo answered just as the rest of their family started to spill into the room. Leo backed up to let Master Splinter and Donnie get closer to Michelangelo.

"Hey there, buddy," Donnie said softly. "You just didn't feel like starting this day like normal, did you?"

Mikey's lips twitched up at the edges in a brief smile. "You know I like to mix things up a bit."

Master Splinter stepped forward taking Mikey's pulse, and placing his hand against his cheek to judge his temperature. "Michelangelo, how long have you been feeling ill?"

"I was fine before I went to bed," He said slowly, looking up at Donnie and Master Splinter as he spoke. "But I woke up…I think the clock said three something, and ran to the bathroom."

Donnie started shuffling through his medical kit and pulled out a thermometer. Unlike normal turtles, which were cold-blooded, Donnie and his brothers were warm blooded. Only their temperatures tended to run a little lower than humans, sitting around ninety-six degrees Fahrenheit.

"Open your mouth," Donnie instructed. Mikey obeyed, and Donnie gave him the thermometer. "Don't bite down, and wait for it to beep again."

Mikey nodded and leaned back into his pillows. He didn't get sick very often. None of them did really, so to be violently ill was sort of a new experience for him.

The thermometer beeped, jarring Mikey slightly since he had started to drift off. Donnie retrieved it and furrowed his brow at the results. "Hm…99.5. That's fairly high for us. You should take some ibuprofen, it will help reduce the fever. I'll give you some nausea medicine too."

"Raphael, would you bring a glass of water in from the kitchen?" Master Splinter asked.

"Hai Sensei," Raph said and ran out of the room.

Mikey shifted in bed, still shivering despite having two thick blankets over him. Master Splinter patted his hand in an attempt to comfort him.

Raphael returned a moment later with the cup of water in his hand. "Here ya go," he handed the drink over to Donnie.

"Mikey, you can sleep as soon as you take this medicine," Donnie said, rousing his ill brother once more.

With shaky hands, Mikey reached out and took the pills from Donnie. He popped them into his mouth and reached for water, taking a small sip to wash down the medicine.

"Are we done?" Mikey asked sounding completely exhausted.

Donnie nodded, though Mikey had closed his eyes. "For now. I'll be checking in on you though."

"Great," Mikey mumbled and finally settled back into his pillows. In a matter of minutes, his breathing evened out, showing he was deeply asleep.

The family retreated to the hall, leaving the door to his room open in case they were needed.

"Do you think we should be concerned about this Donatello?" Master Splinter inquired. Although he was able to manage simple sicknesses, Donatello had, over time, acquired quite a vast knowledge in medicine and how best to treat his brothers should they wind up ill.

"Hopefully not," Donnie answered. "I'm not going to ignore it, but it could just be a bout of food poisoning or a small stomach bug. You know Mikey likes to, uh, experiment with his food sometimes. I'll monitor him, and see how he progresses."

"That sounds reasonable," Splinter placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder. "If anything should come up, let me know."

"Of course, Sensei."

"I am going to the dojo. You three are dismissed from practice today," he said to them. "Thank you for looking after your brother," Splinter smiled at them, and retreated toward the living room.

Raph was watching Mikey sleep from the doorway. Mikey looked relaxed enough for the moment, but a worried expression was still firmly planted on Raph's features. He turned to Leo, "Does something about this seem…I dunno, off to you?"

"I woke up with that feeling this morning," Leo said.

It worried them all so much more than they would like to admit. Mikey was perfectly fine when they went to sleep, and they had pretty much all had the same meals during the previous day. They had gone out for a nightly patrol, and the only significant event was a small skirmish with a few Purple Dragon punks. Still none of it would lead them to illness, and the mystery behind it is what bothered them.

"I think Sensei could sense there was something wrong too, but didn't want to worry us," Leo added.

"It's the fever," Donnie walked past them and back to Mikey's side. He put a hand gently on Mikey's forehead. "Normally, not associated with food poisoning or rarely with a twenty-four hour bug. I'm going to have to think this one over more."

The three brothers stood watch over their youngest for a while longer. They could only hope that their feelings about Mikey were wrong. Unfortunately, for them luck was seldom in their favor.

First chapter in what should be a five to six chapter story. I don't know why I like to pick on Mikey so much, but I do. He's my favorite, and therefore my victim apparently.

Feedback is always appreciated. Also the title and summary may not be permanent, and I really hope they don't sound too cliche. I sat at my laptop for almost two hours trying to think of something. I hope you readers enjoyed this chapter!