Yes, this is the official last chapter. It's sad that the story has ended, but this has really been an awesome experience for me. I have never written this much before, ever. (Well, for one topic, that is.) Anyway, I'll make this a shout-out to all of those who reviewed this. Thank you, whoever you are! I am truly grateful for all your input and compliments. I really am happy that I was able to complete a story for you all. Jeeze, I'm getting all sentimental now…Ha ha, and no, I do not watch soap operas like Master Splinter, I promise. Really. All that aside, it's time to go back to the story as it continues for one…last…time…

Inside, everyone was scrambling about by their orders from Don. April came in just as he was yelling another command: "Casey! Get me a wet hand towel from the bathroom! Raph, did you find a thermometer yet?"

Suddenly, Casey appeared out of nowhere and almost ran into April as he sprinted to the couch where Mikey was lying down on. "Sorry, Ape!" he called over his shoulder. He handed a small, wet towel to Don and ran off again. Don gingerly placed the towel on Mikey's forehead.

By this time, April saw that Mikey was awake and decided to talk to him and see how he felt. She walked over to Mikey and petted his arm tenderly. "Hey," she said gently, getting the sick turtle's attention. "How are you feeling?"

Mikey shook his head with an upset frown, but didn't say anything. Even without spoken words, April could tell that Mikey was feeling pretty bad, and coupled with the fact that Mikey wasn't even talking, her worry at the situation rose.

Suddenly, April was pushed aside by Raph. "Hey, need yer temperature, bro," he said gruffly, handing a thermometer to Mikey. The youngest took it and placed the thin object under his hot tongue.

When the thermometer beeped, it was Don who took it out of Mikey's mouth. His face hardened when read the number on the small screen. "He's got a little over a hundred-and-one fever," he announced.

"Well, at least it's not as high as it could be, I guess," Leo said. There was nothing much to say after that, so an awkward silence hung over the group that had gathered around the couch.

In the stillness, Mikey's eyes drifted shut once more. "No, no, c'mon Mikey," Raph said as he tapped his brother's cheek softly. "Ya gotta stay awake an' take yer medicine first."

Mikey whimpered and scrunched up his face, looking up at his brothers. "Better be cherry flavored…*cough, cough*…'s gonna taste awful otherwise," he whispered weakly with a pout. Raph, Don, and Leo laughed, knowing that their brother would never change. At the sight of his brothers' laughter, Mikey couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his pale face. He couldn't wait to get better already; laughing and talking was really something he missed. He had let out a few jokes here and there, but it wasn't enough—he wanted to share his happiness with his brothers. And of course his sense of humor too, but sometimes his brothers weren't so keen on sharing that. Mikey winced, pulled out of his thoughts from the pain his throat gave him, and started to cough again.

Raph went right to rubbing Mikey's shell without a word as Don helped to adjust the wet towel on his forehead. Leo joined in on comforting the youngest as best he could. April however stood where she was, unsure of what to do. But as she watched the four brothers, she knew she wasn't really needed anyway.

Finally, Splinter and Casey appeared with medicine and a cup of water. "Here is the medicine, Donatello," Splinter said as he handed two small bottles over.

"Thanks," Don replied. He swiftly poured out the right amount of thick, red liquid from one bottle into a tiny plastic cup and gave it to Mikey, who downed it in one glup. Mikey voiced a pained grunt as his throat protested at the swallow, but he didn't complain further. "That was for the coughing," Don explained. "And these—" Don dropped two pills from the second bottle into Mikey's hand "—are for the fever." Mikey got the cup of water from Casey and took the pills. After he handed the cup back, he settled back down into the couch with a yawn.

"We should probably move you to a bed," Don suggested.

"Don' wanna get up…" Mikey whined softly.

"Then I'll carry ya there, bonehead," Raph countered. Mikey grumbled to himself but let Raph slide his strong arms under his limp neck and legs. Raph lifted Mikey from the couch and slowly walked to one of the upstairs bedrooms of the farmhouse, with the rest of the group right behind him.

Mikey fell back asleep a few minutes later, and the three turtle brothers silently agreed to stay in his room. But under the firm order of their Sensei, they were kicked out and told to get clean first. Begrudgingly they agreed, but as soon as the dirt and grime was all washed off, they felt much more relaxed. When Mikey woke up from his nap a little while after, Leo and Don helped him take a bath as well. They were pleased to find that Mikey was feeling much better. Though his fever remained, he at least was not in much pain anymore—just tired and weak.

"I guess this means that the medicine is working, huh," Leo mused. "He's not coughing anymore."

"Let's hope it lasts," replied Don. He leaned back to Mikey with a bar of soap. "Okay, let's get you nice and—hey!" Don shook Mikey who was just on the verge of falling asleep where he lay in the tub. "Mikey, please stay awake."

"Mmm…no faaaaair…" Mikey slurred as he sat up again. " 'S nice 'n toasty…"

"Yer such an oddball," came a voice from the door.

Leo and Don whipped their heads around while Mikey whined, "Leooo, Doooon…Raph called me odd…"

"And it wouldn't be the first time," Leo chuckled as he scrubbed more dirt off of Mikey's shell with a rough sponge.

"Need something?" Don asked as Raph stepped into the small bathroom.

"Nah, jus' here ta bring somethin' from Masta' Splinta'," Raph responded. "It's some herbs fer Mike's bath. S'possed ta do healin' or somethin'."

"Oh thanks," Don said. He was handed a bowl from Raph and emptied its contents into the hot water.

"Those better…be more useful…than stinkin' up the bathroom," Mikey murmured sluggishly.

"Mikey, you're gonna damage your throat at this rate," Don warned.

Mikey grumbled but stayed silent. "Oddball," Raph said again with a teasing smile. This time, he got no retort from the youngest.

Finally, the turtles were all clean and ready to tell Splinter, Casey, and April what they had experienced in the forest. After everyone seated themselves in Mikey's room, the story was started. In the beginning, Casey and April had a hard time believing in the wolf spirits the turtles had encountered, but soon they became intrigued by it all. They asked many questions, which Leo, Don, and Raph answered excitedly.

Splinter however stayed quiet throughout the session. The turtles were puzzled by his unusual silence, and even more baffled when they reached the end of their story. Splinter gave not a troubled frown—as he usually did when the four brothers got mixed up in dangerous situations—but a satisfied smile. It was as if he knew something that the turtles did not. But how could that be when it was he who had been in the dark as they had been away on an adventure?

After Casey and April left to start making dinner, Mikey could no longer hide his curiosity. "Something funny, Sensei?" he whispered hoarsely.

He was shushed by Don immediately, who reminded his brother yet again: "Mikey, please don't strain your throat, let it heal first!"

Splinter chuckled a bit and looked to his sons. "Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael—" the four turtles whipped their heads to Splinter "—I believe that now, I must share a story with you as well."

"Sensei?" Leo said, confused.

Splinter got up, walked over to where Mikey was sitting up in bed, and placed a comforting hand on the turtle's warm shoulder. "You see, the day we arrived at the farmhouse, I was contacted by the Damiyo. He told me of a clan of forest spirits that he had felt unrest in, and asked if I could help solve this problem in his place." The turtles' eyes widened.

Don shook his head in disbelief. "D-don't tell me…"

"…you knew about this all along?" Leo finished.

Splinter nodded. "Indeed. It was the Damiyo who had informed me about the truth behind the clearing marked by the large boulder. He needed someone with great spiritual power, and I agreed to send you four on the mission." He sighed. "But, when I heard of Michelangelo's illness, I had hoped that you could escape the forest to tend to him first."

"But we failed to do that," Leo said curtly.

Splinter gave an unexpected smile. "And perhaps it was meant to be." While Leo, Mikey and Raph looked puzzled, Don dipped his head in thought and brought a hand to his chin. Splinter stood up. "You did well, my sons. Now then, I will assist Mr. Jones and Ms. O'neil with dinner," he said with a warm smile. He closed the door behind him.

"You know, what Master Splinter said might be true actually," Don reasoned, breaking the silence. "We definitely wouldn't have been in such a complex situation if Mikey hadn't been sick, and because of that—captured with Leo."

"My bad," Mikey whispered. He gave a playful smile, but his brothers could easily see behind that cheerful mask—Mikey was still upset over his condition.

Raph barely restrained himself from knocking the youngest on the head like usual. Instead, he replied hotly, "Donnie's sayin' it's a good thing, shell-fer-brains."

"Exactly," Don agreed quickly. "Listen, Mikey," he said, getting the youngest's attention, "if you hadn't been sick like that, we probably would have—"

"—Beat the stuffin' outta those wolves," Raph interrupted proudly, his fist hitting an open hand.

With a weary sigh, Don resumed his explanation. "Yes, well, after that I'm sure we wouldn't have been much help. In fact, we regrettably would have made the situation worse."

"Dagger wouldn't have changed if it wasn't for us," Leo added.

" 'An King would'a still been a stupid flea-bag of a leader," Raph continued.

Mikey smiled. "Okay, I get it, guys," he whispered. Suddenly, his smile dropped as he winced and shifted a bit. "Um…"

"You need something?" Leo said, concerned.

Mikey looked up hesitantly. "Yeah, I just…'m kinda feelin' bad again…" Mikey's voice cracked and he made a pained sound.

Leo made space for Don who moved closer to Mikey. "You're going to have to be more specific," he said gently.

Mikey fidgeted with the blanket between his hands. He looked embarrassed.

"Hey, hey—it's okay to feel bad." Leo said, taking one of Mikey's hands tenderly. "That's why we're here for you. I promised that you'd get better, right?"

Mikey nodded weakly. "My throat...'s hurting a lot more," he said softly.

Don placed two fingers under Mikey's jaw on both sides. Mikey flinched at the contact, but Leo calmed him by squeezing his hand. "Your lymph nodes are still pretty swollen…" Don felt around carefully. "And it's been—how long? About…a little more than four hours by now. Yeah, that sounds about right—the medicine probably wore off." He gave a pat on Mikey's head and started to walk out of the room. "Be right back." When he returned, he had Mikey take more of the thick, red medicine. At the use of his throat, the turtle's forehead creased with pain.

"Don'cha keep quiet about what hurts, Mikey," Raph said as soon as Mikey had finished.

Leo squeezed Mikey's hand one more time before he let go and sat himself down on a corner of the bed next to Don. "I'm sure we'll be regretting those words in a few days," he said with a knowing sigh.

Don groaned. "He's gonna annoy the shell out of us, isn't he?"

While Mikey put on an innocent face, Raph snickered lightly. " 'S what little brothers are for I guess."

Leo chuckled along with Raph while Don went to feel Mikey's forehead. "Hmm…it's definitely a lower temperature than before," he said, pulling back. "Still, it's gonna take a lot of TLC to get you back to normal."

"And that's why we're here—to help you," Leo said, giving a meaningful stare to the youngest.

Mikey gave his trademark smile, surprising his older brothers for a moment. " 'Cause that's what…big brothers are for…"

"Getting' betta' already, huh?" Raph snorted, tapping Mikey on the shoulder. "Now get some rest, ya bonehead."

"Mhmm…" responded Mikey drowsily, eyes already half-closed. He got another tap on the shoulder from Raph, a massaging squeeze on the back on the neck from Leo, and a chaste kiss on the forehead from Don.

"Sleep tight Mikey," said Leo.

"And call us if you need anything, okay?" Don insisted. He and Leo exited the room.

It was Raph who shut off the lights and turned to close the door. He paused before shutting it, but didn't turn back. "Love ya, little bro," he whispered. He wasn't sure if Mikey caught his heartfelt confession, but he reasoned it was probably better that way. The door was closed almost all the way; Raph wanted to leave it open by a crack, just in case. It was then that he heard a faint cough.

A small, hoarse voice rang out in the silence. "Dork."

Raph laughed all the way down to the kitchen. Yeah, he knew Mikey was definitely going to get better. The farmhouse wouldn't be quiet for much longer, and that was just the way he liked it.